PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:             2 March 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999030962

	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. Jessie B. Strickland .		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Edwin S. Castle		Chairperson	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Member	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		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 Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action in Vietnam in 1968 and was awarded the Purple Heart (PH); however, he was never awarded the CIB.  He goes on to state that he presumed that he was not awarded the CIB because he was injured in combat.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 17 October 1967 for a period of 3 years and training under the airborne enlistment option.  He successfully completed his training and was transferred to Vietnam on 2 May 1968 for duty as a light weapons infantryman.  He was promoted to the rank of private first class (PFC) on 1 May 1968 and was assigned to Company C, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 506th Infantry.

5.  On 8 August 1968, while in combat, he received multiple fragmentation wounds to the left arm, left shoulder, left hand, buttocks and both hips.  He was awarded the PH on 9 August 1968. 

6.  The applicant was medically evacuated to a hospital in Japan and was subsequently evacuated to a hospital at Fort Riley, Kansas where he remained until he was placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL on 16 January 1970 in the pay grade of E-4.  He remained on the TDRL until 29 February 1972 when he was determined to be permanently unfit for duty by reason of physical disability and was placed on the Permanent Disability Retired List (PDRL). 

7.  A review of the applicant’s report of separation (DD Form 214) shows that he was awarded the PH, the Air Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge, the Expert Marksmanship Badge with M14 and M16 bars, and the First Class Gunner Badge with M60 machinegun bar.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes the criteria for award of the 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.

9.  That regulation also provides, in effect, that the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (RVNCM) is awarded for service in Vietnam for a period of less than 6 months when an individual has been wounded by hostile forces, captured, or killed in the line of duty. 
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.  

11.  Table 1 (Army Units in Numerical Order) of the pamphlet indicates that Department of the Army General Order (DAGO) 43, published in 1970, authorized the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm (RVNGC w/palm) for service in Vietnam during the period 19 July 1968 to 14 May 1969. 

12.  The pamphlet also shows that the applicant’s unit, the 2d Battalion, 506th Infantry, earned the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) for service in Vietnam between 13 June and 23 September 1968. This award was authorized in DAGO 38, which was published in 1971.  His unit also earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) for the period of 14 March to 3 October 1968 and was published in DAGO 22 published in 1976.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is sufficient evidence in the available records to show that the applicant served as an infantryman in combat in Vietnam with an infantry company and that he was wounded while performing those duties against an armed enemy of the United States.  Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to award him the CIB at this time for his service as an infantryman in combat in Vietnam.

2.  Accordingly, he should be awarded the CIB for his service in Vietnam as an infantryman in Company C, 2d Battalion, 506th Infantry on 8 August 1968 while serving in the rank of PFC. 

3. The Board also determined that the applicant is entitled to the RVNCM, the RVNGC w/palm, the PUC and the MUC for his Vietnam service, with the 506th Infantry during the period of 2 May 1968 to 26 August 1968.  Although these awards were authorized in DAGO’s published subsequent to the applicant’s separation from active duty, the Board concluded, in the interest of equity, that the applicant’s record should be corrected to include these awards at this time.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the awards of the CIB, RVNCM, RVNGCw/palm, PUC and MUC for his service in Vietnam while serving in the rank of PFC with Company C, 2d Battalion, 506th Infantry.

BOARD VOTE:  

__kan___  __sk____  __esc___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999030962	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/03/02	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	N/A	
DISCHARGE REASON	N/A	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT )	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.107.0111	157/CIB	
2.107.0094	140/RVNGC	
3.107.0088	134/RVNCM	
4.107.0031	77/PUC	
5.107.0034	80/MUC	
6.