PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           4 November 2003 
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003089553

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Gail J. Wire		Member	
	Mr. Antonio Uribe		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
            records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in Vietnam in June 1969 and never received the award of the Purple Heart.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Decision awarding him service connected disability for a shrapnel wound to the left calf. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted on 8 December 1967, for a period of 3 years, under the airborne enlistment option.  He completed his basic combat training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, his advanced individual training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and his airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia.  

5.  Upon completion of his airborne training he was transferred to Vietnam on 9 July 1968, where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, for duty as a light weapons infantryman.

6.  He was promoted to the rank of sergeant on 5 March 1969 and departed Vietnam on 8 July 1969, for assignment to Fort Carson, Colorado.  He remained at Fort Carson until he was honorably released from active duty on 7 December 1970, due to the expiration of his term of service.  He had served 3 years of total active service and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze service stars, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Parachutist Badge and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.  His records show that he had excellent conduct and efficiency ratings throughout his service.

7.  A review of the applicant's records, the Vietnam Casualty Listing and unit records at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, failed to show any indication that the applicant was wounded, reported as a casualty, or that he was treated for any such wounds.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning award of the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM).  It states, in pertinent part, that the AGCM was established by Executive Order 8809, 28 June 1941 and was amended by Executive Order 9323, 1943 and by Executive Order 10444, 10 April 1953 and is awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active Federal military service.  The regulation also states, in pertinent part, that for first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950, a period of service of less than 3 years but more than 1 year qualifies for award of the AGCM.

10.  Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register-Vietnam Era) was published to assist commanders and personnel officers in determining or establishing the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during the Vietnam Conflict.  Table 1 (Army Units in Numerical Order) of the pamphlet indicates that the applicant’s unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal – First Class (RVNCAHM-FC) Unit Citation during the period he was assigned to the unit.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board has noted the applicant's contention that he was wounded in Vietnam and that the VA has awarded him service-connected disability for shrapnel wounds.  However, the Board finds no evidence to show that he was wounded in action, that he was treated by medical personnel, or that it was made a matter of record at the time, all the essential criteria for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The VA is an independent agency that operates under its own separate policies and the fact that the applicant was awarded service-connected disability for shrapnel wounds is done at the discretion of that agency.  

3.  While the Board understands that an administrative oversight may have been made at the time, it is incumbent on the applicant to show that such an error was made.  The Board finds no evidence in the available records to show that such occurred.  Accordingly, the Board has no basis to award him the Purple Heart at this time.

4.  However, the Board does find that subsequent to his discharge, his unit was awarded the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation and that he is entitled to receive that award at this time.

5.  The Board also notes that the applicant had no lost time and that he did not receive an AGCM at the time he was separated from the service.  Consequently, the Board finds that it was likely the result of an administrative error, as opposed to it being the result of a conscious disqualification by any of the unit commanders for which he served.  Therefore, in the interest of justice, the Board determined that this error should be corrected and the applicant should receive the AGCM at this time.

6.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the AGCM for the period of 8 December 1967 to 7 December 1970 and the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation.

2.  That so much of the application as pertains to award of the Purple Heart that is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__gw____  ___fe ___  ___au___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003089553	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2003/11/04	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/PH	
2.  102	107.0056/AGCM	
3.  141	107.0095/RVNCAHM	
4.		
5.		
6.