PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            11 February 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002077968

	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. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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, the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and any other awards that he is entitled to receive.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in Vietnam on 2 March 1971 and was evacuated to a hospital in Japan.  He was subsequently evacuated to Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) and then assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas.  He goes on to state that he attempted to receive medical treatment and was informed that the awards had to be on his report of separation (DD Form 214).

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted on 22 June 1970.  He successfully completed his training and was transferred to Vietnam on 1 December 1970, for duty as a light weapons infantryman with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-3 (PFC) on 18 December 1970.

5. Although his records are somewhat incomplete, they show he was admitted to an Army hospital in Japan on 4 March 1971 and was transferred to WRGH on 26 March 1971, where he remained until he was transferred to Fort Riley on 21 May 1971.  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 (SP4) on 1 September 1971. 

6.  On 7 January 1972, he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 5-3 and Department of the Army message DAPE-MPP 102035Z December 1971, under Secretarial Authority.  He had served 1 year, 6 months and 16 days of total active service and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and marksmanship qualification badges.  His records show that he had excellent conduct and efficiency ratings and contain no derogatory information. 

7.  A review of his Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) fails to show that he was wounded or injured in combat; however, his separation physical/medical examination taken on 17 December 1971, indicates that he was wounded in the liver in Vietnam.  The doctor’s comments indicate the applicant was wounded in Vietnam, that he had an exploratory Laparotomy for a liver laceration, that he had a midline abdominal scar and right lateral abdominal scar.  Coordination with the Military Review Board’s medical advisor indicates that the physician’s notes are consistent with treatment for a liver laceration/shrapnel wounds.  

8.  The available records also contain a request for information from the Veterans Administration in Baltimore, Maryland, dated 13 December 1972, the same year of the applicant’s separation.  The applicant’s claim at that time was that he had been wounded by shrapnel in the right side of the chest and liver, that he had been evacuated to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in Japan and then to WRGH.

9.  A review of unit records at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, failed to indicate that the applicant had ever been reported as a casualty or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

10.  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.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also 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.

12.  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.  It also provides that the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) is awarded to all members of the Armed Forces assigned to Vietnam for 1 day or more.  A bronze service star is awarded for wear on the VSM to denote each campaign in which an individual participated.

13.  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.  Disqualification for award of the AGCM requires specific action by the commander in writing, to disqualify a member and it must be referred to the individual for comment.

14.  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 participated in one campaign and was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm (RVNGC w/palm) Unit Citation for service in Vietnam during the period he was assigned to the unit. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the available records do not contain the typical documents required to show that an individual was wounded in combat and that his treatment was made a matter of record, the Board finds the available evidence contained in his records is sufficiently convincing to show that he in fact sustained multiple fragmentation wounds on 2 March 1971 and that he was evacuated to a hospital for treatment of those wounds, while serving as a PFC.  

2.  Accordingly, the Board finds that it would be in the interest of justice to award him the Purple Heart at this time.

3.  The Board also finds that the available evidence corroborates that he was serving as an infantryman in an infantry company at the time he was wounded.  Accordingly, the Board finds that he should also be awarded the CIB.

4.  Additionally, he was entitled to awards of the VSM with one bronze service star, the RVNCM and the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation.  However, for reasons not explained in the available records, they were never awarded.  Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to do so at this time.

5.  After carefully examining the applicant’s record of service, the Board has determined that the applicant should have received the AGCM for his service from 22 June 1970 through 7 January 1972.  This conclusion is based on the fact that the record is void of any derogatory information, which would preclude the applicant from being awarded the AGCM, and the lack of any specific action by the applicant’s unit commander to disqualify him from receiving the award.  

6.  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 Purple Heart for wounds received on Vietnam on 2 March 1971, while serving as a PFC, the CIB effective 2 March 1971, the VSM with one bronze service star, the RVNCM, the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation, and the AGCM for the period of 22 June 1970 through 7 January 1972, while serving as a SP4.

BOARD VOTE:  

__sac ___  ___rks __  __au____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Samuel A. Crumpler____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002077968	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2003/02/11	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/ph	
2.  157	107.0111/cib	
3.  140	107.0094/rvngc	
4.  102	107.0056/gcm	
5.  119	107.0073/vsm	
6.  134	107.0088/rvncm