ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 28 September 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190005537 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record), dated 25 February 2019 * Commander, U.S. Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, letter, dated 29 April 1968, subject: Purple Heart Medal; Award of FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three-year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states there was an error by Army Administration when his DD Form 214 was completed. 3. The applicant is entitled to additional awards not listed on his DD Form 214. His DD Form 214 will be administratively corrected without Board action to show award of the following: * one silver service star to his previously-issued Vietnam Service Medal * Meritorious Unit Commendation * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation 4. On 25 January 1967, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army. 5. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 61C (Marine Engineer) and he was assigned to duty in Vietnam where he served from on or about 2 January 1968 to 24 December 1968 while assigned to 329th Transportation Company. He participated in five campaigns while in Vietnam. 6. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification) shows in: a. item 29 (Qualification in Arms) – * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bars (M-14) * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bars (M-16) b. item 40 (Wounds) – blank and c. item 41 (Awards and Decorations) – * National Defense Service Medal * Vietnam Service Medal * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * two overseas service bars * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14) and (M-16) 7. The applicant provided a letter from the Commander, U.S. Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, dated 19 April 1968, subject: Purple Heart; Award of, that shows he awarded the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat action while "in support of the Forces of the Republic of Vietnam in their struggle with insurgent communist (Viet Cong) forces on 26 February 1968." The letter also shows the applicant was advised a permanent certificate would be issued to him by the Chief of Naval Personnel upon his request and it was recommended that he make an application for his certificate upon his return to the continental United States. 8. On 24 December 1968, he was honorably released from active duty. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded or authorized the following: * National Defense Service Medal * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * Vietnam Service Medal * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bars (M-14) and (M-16) * two overseas service bars 9. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders pertaining to the applicant for award of the Purple Heart. 10. The applicant's name appears on the Department of the Army Office of the Adjutant General Casualty Division Casualty Reference Name Listing for the period 1 January 1961 through 30 June 1973, a battle and non-battle listing of Soldiers who were killed, wounded, sick, captured, or missing during their service in Vietnam. with a hostile wound in action. The applicant’s date of injury is listed as 26 February 1968 with Casualty Status Code 23 (hostile wounded in action: not serious hospitalized) and his Contributing Cause of Injury is listed as Code H (not booby trap connected). 11. The applicant's available records are void of orders awarding him the Purple Heart. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After review of the application and all evidence, in addition to the Administrative Notes (below the signature), the Board determined there is sufficient evidence to grant relief. Regarding award of the Purple Heart Medal, The Board found sufficient evidence in the record the he received medical treatment and he was listed on the Vietnam casualty roster for wounds he received by hostile fire on 26 February 1968. The Board found the record, when viewed in its totality, is sufficient to reasonably conclude the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action and received medical treatment for his wound on 26 February 1968 2. The Board determined that evidence supports awarding of the Army Good Conduct Medal to the applicant based upon him receiving excellent conduct and efficiency ratings for one year on his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record). BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :XX :XX :XX GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: In addition to the Administrative Notes (below the signature block), the Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for full relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: 1. awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received while in combat in Vietnam on 26 February 1968, 2. adding the Purple Heart and the AGCM to item 24 of his DD Form 214 dated 24 December 1968. I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): The applicant was awarded or authorized the following awards not listed on his DD Form 214: * one silver service star to his previously-issued Vietnam Service Medal * Meritorious Unit Commendation * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Department of the Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. a. The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 medical personnel, not merely examination, by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. b. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required. c. One bronze service star is authorized with the Vietnam Service Medal for each campaign during which a member was assigned or attached to and present for duty with a unit during the period in which it participated in combat. 3. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the awards received by units serving in Vietnam. This pamphlet shows the 329th Transportation Company was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation by Department of the Army General Orders Number 28, dated 1969, for the period 1 January 1968 to 31 July 1968. 4. Department of the Army General Orders Number 8, dated 19 March 1974, confirmed award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation to Headquarters, U.S. Military Assistance Command, and its subordinate units during the period 8 February 1962 to 28 March 1973 and to Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam, and its subordinate units during the period 20 July 1965 to 28 March 1973. 5. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), in effect at the time, prescribed policies, responsibilities, and procedures pertaining to career management of Army enlisted personnel. Instructions stated a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization, would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20. The instructions further stated the date the wound or injury occurred would also be entered in item 40. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190005537 5 1