APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That his DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge, be corrected to show that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Paratrooper Wings, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That although he has received the above medals they are not reflected on his DD Form 214.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He was inducted on 4 August 1967 and after basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and radio telephone operator training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, he served 1 year with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.  He was honorably discharged upon completion of his term of service on 18 May 1969.

His DD Form 214 reflects the following awards: the National Defense Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal.  (At his request, the US Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) reviewed his records and determined that he was also entitled to the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Civil Action Medal, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Badge, and the Sharpshooter Badge with rifle bar.)

The applicant’s enlisted qualification record contains no entries to indicate that he completed airborne training and was awarded the Parachutist Badge or that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The record contains no evidence that orders were published awarding him either of the aforementioned badges.

His medical records do not show that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or that he was recommended for award of the Purple Heart.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, provides, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for award of the basic Parachutist Badge, an individual must have satisfactorily completed the prescribed proficiency tests while assigned or attached to an airborne unit or the Airborne Department of the US Army Infantry School, or have participated in at least one combat parachute jump.  Special eligibility for awards will be determined from the DA Form 1307 (Individual Jump Record) in the field 201 file section of the Military Personnel Records Jacket.

The same regulation provides that to be eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge, an individual must be an infantryman with an infantry military occupational specialty and must perform primary 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.

The awards regulation also provides guidance concerning awarding the Purple Heart.  It states 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.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The applicant was awarded the Good Conduct Medal by the ARPERCEN after a review of his records.

2.  However, the available records contain no evidence and he has not provided any evidence to show that he was awarded the Parachutist Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart.  

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there appears to be no basis for granting the applicant’s request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT          

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION




						Karl F. Schneider
						Acting Director