RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            09 December 2003             
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091209

	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. Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Ms. Eloise C. Prendergast		Member	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests that his award of the Purple Heart be added to his report of separation (DD Form 214).

2.  The applicant states that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in Vietnam; however, it was never added to his DD Form 214 at the time of separation.  He further states that he needs the award added so that he may obtain car tag exemption status.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred on 18 July 1968.  The application submitted in this case is dated 20 May 2003.  

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant's records, though somewhat incomplete show that the applicant enlisted in Jackson, Mississippi, on 16 July 1965, for a period of 3 years, under the airborne enlistment option.  He successfully completed his training and was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-3 on 23 March 1966.

4.  On 28 April 1967, he was transferred to Vietnam and was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment for duty as an infantry indirect fire crewman.  On 19 June 1967, he received a gunshot wound to the left arm as a result of enemy small arms fire and was treated at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, where his wound was debrided and the missile removed 4 days later.  He was evacuated to the 249th General Hospital in Vietnam and then evacuated to a Medical Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia, on 2 August 1967.  

5.  He was subsequently transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he remained until he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) in the pay grade of E-4, on 18 July 1968, due to the expiration of his term of service.  He had served 3 years and 1 days of total active service and his DD Form 214 issued at the time of his REFRAD indicates that he was awarded the Parachutist Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.  There is no indication in the available records to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  However, he was separated on temporary records at the time.

6.  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.

7.  That regulation also provides the criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  It states, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for the CIB, an individual must be an infantryman with an infantry military occupational specialty (MOS) and must perform duty as an infantryman, as a member of an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period in which that unit was engaged in ground combat.  Battle participation credit alone is not sufficient.

8.  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 subsequently awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm (RVNGC w/Palm) Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal – First Class (RVNCAHM-FC) Unit Citation during the period he was assigned to the unit.  Additionally, he participated in two campaigns while assigned to Vietnam and is entitled to be awarded two bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the available records do not contain evidence that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart for his 19 June 1967 wound in Vietnam, the evidence of record clearly establishes his entitlement to that award.  Therefore, it is reasonable to presume that he was in fact awarded the Purple Heart as he claims and is entitled to have it entered in his records at this time.

2.  The evidence of record also shows that the applicant is entitled to be awarded the CIB (by virtue of his being wounded while serving as an infantryman in combat), the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation, the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation and two bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM.

3.  Additionally, the applicant is entitled to be awarded the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation, the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation and two bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM.

BOARD VOTE:

elp_____  mdm_____  rjw_____  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart and by awarding him the CIB, RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation, the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation and two bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM. 

		____Mark D. Manning____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091209	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20031209	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.0015	61/PH	
2.  107.0111	157/CIB	
3.  107.0094	140/RVNGC	
4.  107.0095	141/RVNCAHM	
5.		
6.