PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           17 January 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001064553

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Chairperson	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		Member	
	Mr. Kenneth W. Lapin		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, in effect, that his Report of Transfer or Discharge, DD Form 214, be corrected to show his rank and grade as Sergeant, E-5 and to show all the awards and decorations he is authorized.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was promoted to Sergeant, E-5 and the Army owes him $88.00.  When he separated at Fort Dix, NJ, he turned in all his records.  He did not make copies of anything so he has no proof but he knows he is right.  There is no record of his qualifying on the M50, M16, or M14 or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 18 January 1967.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 57F (Memorial Activities Specialist).  His initial assignment was to the 364th Supply and Service Company, Fort Bragg, NC.  He was then assigned to Battery C, 3d Battalion, 76th Artillery, U. S. Army Europe.  He was assigned to the U. S. Army Transfer Station, U. S. Army Personnel Center, Fort Dix, NJ on 20 December 1968 and was released from active duty on 21 December 1968 in the rank and grade of Specialist Four, E-4 after completing 1 year, 11 months, and 4 days of creditable active service with no time lost.  His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Sharpshooter Qualification Badge, Rifle M14.  The applicant signed the DD Form 214.

5.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record, DA Form 20, shows that he qualified as a sharpshooter on the rifle M14 in March 1967 and February 1968.  This information is confirmed by available orders.  There is no evidence of record to show he qualified on any other weapon.  

6.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 shows that he was promoted to Specialist Four, E-4 on 6 May 1968.  There is no evidence of record in the form of orders or entries on his DA Form 20 to show he was promoted to Sergeant, E-5.  His Installation Clearance Record, DA Form 137, dated 16 December 1968 shows his rank as Sergeant.  It also shows he was recommended for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal and his DA Form 20 shows that his conduct and efficiency were rated as excellent throughout his service.  However, his separation orders dated 21 December 1968 and his Statement of Medical Conditions, DD Form 3082, dated 21 December 1968, which he signed, show his rank as Specialist Four, E-4.

7.  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 the result of hostile 

action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

8.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, provided policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  It stated that the Army Good Conduct Medal was awarded for each 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service completed on or after 27 August 1940 and, for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year.  At the time, a soldier’s conduct and efficiency ratings must have been rated as “excellent” for the entire period of qualifying service.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record to show the applicant was promoted to Sergeant, E-5.  No promotion orders are available.  His separation orders, plus his DD Form 214, which he signed, and a DD Form 3082, which he signed, show his rank as Specialist Four, E-4.  His DA Form 137 shows his rank as Sergeant; however, without substantiating evidence the Board presumes that this was an error or the applicant was an acting Sergeant at the time.  

2.  There is no evidence of record to show the applicant qualified in any weapon other than the rifle M14.  There is no evidence of record to show he served in Vietnam or any other hostile fire area or that he was otherwise wounded as a result of hostile action.

3.  The applicant met the eligibility criteria for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.

4.  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 applicant the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 18 January 1967 – 21 December 1968.

2.  That the applicant’s DD Form 214 be amended to add the Army Good Conduct Medal.

3.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jlp___  __cjp___  __kwl___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Jennifer L. Prater
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064553	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020117	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	131.0000	
2.	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.