PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 16 October, 2001
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001063195


         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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor		Chairperson
Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member
Mr. Donald P. Hupman		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.

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2. The applicant, who is the spouse of a former service member (FSM), requests verification of his award of the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

3. The applicant states that the FSM’s separation document does not show he was awarded the Silver Star or the Purple Heart for his actions at Kham Duc (Vietnam) from 12 - 14 May 1969. She contends that the FSM was presented the Silver Star while in Vietnam. While she has no documentary evidence to support her claim, she does have a picture of the Silver Star that was given to him, and an affidavit from a witness who believes the FSM was awarded the Silver Star Medal, and saw him wearing it. She believes that the BSM with “V” device awarded to the FSM for his actions on 13 May 1969 should have been a Silver Star award. She desires that her husband be buried in Arlington National Cemetery but unless he was awarded the Purple Heart, Silver Star or a higher award, his burial there is not possible.

4. In support of her request, she submits a copy of the FSM’s DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge, his Death Certificate, copies of general orders awarding him the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) with “V” device and oak leaf cluster, with accompanying certificates, a copy of his DA Form 66, Officer Qualification Record, statements from three former soldiers who participated in the 12 – 14 May 1969 battle in Vietnam and copies of letters from Senator Olympia Snowe in support of the family’s request to bury the FSM at Arlington National Cemetery.

5. The FSM’s military records show that he was inducted on 4 October 1966. He subsequently attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant on 22 November 1967. He served in Vietnam as a platoon leader with the Americal Division from November 1968 to September 1969 and was honorably separated and assigned to the US Army Reserve on 9 September 1969 in the grade of first lieutenant. He died on 30 August 2001.

6. Awards reflected on the FSM’s DD Form 214 include the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the BSM with “V” device and oak leaf cluster. His DA Form 66 shows additional awards that are not reflected on the DD Form 214; which include the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. The record contains no evidence showing that the FSM was awarded the Silver Star or the Purple Heart.

7. Americal Division General Order 9260 awarded the FSM the BSM with “V” device for his actions in assisting and evacuating wounded on 13 May 1969. Americal Division General Order 7259 awarded him the BSM with “V” device for his actions on 14 May 1969 in directing his platoon’s retaliatory fire against the enemy and assisting the platoon’s wounded. Americal Division General Order 7848 awarded him the BSM for meritorious service for the period September 1968 to September 1969 (the actual period of his Vietnam service was November 1968 to September 1969).
8. In an affidavit dated 18 September 2001, a former member of the FSM’s unit in Vietnam, asserts that he served directly under the FSM for a period of time, and during the battle in question, was a radio telephone operator for the unit to which the FSM’s Recon Platoon was attached. He states that when the battle ended on 14 May 1969, every member of the Recon Platoon (which the FSM lead) was bleeding from wounds received during the battle. He says that the FSM was bleeding from the chin and both arms. He does not believe the FSM would have remembered these wounds because he was catatonic on 14 May 1969, and did not recover until the next day. He goes on to state, that one week following the battle, he was sent to an investigation held by the division commander. At the end of the testimony in that investigation, he was awarded the Silver Star, which the division commander pinned on him. He saw the FSM go into the same investigation and emerge with a Silver Star pinned on his uniform. He also says that neither he nor the FSM were officially awarded the Silver Star.

9. In an affidavit dated 25 September 2001, the platoon medical aid man for one of the several units involved in the 12 – 14 May 1969 battle, attest to the fact that he personally knew the FSM and that following the battle, could certify that the FSM had been wounded in the neck and wore a bloody bandage over the wound.

10. In a statement dated 11 October 2001, another officer, who was also a platoon leader during the time in question, states that he saw the FSM immediately after the battle with a bandage on his head and neck which he said was from a mortar round.

11. On 10 October 2001 a copy of the operational summaries of the 12 – 14 May 1969 battle involving the FSM’s unit and other units of the Americal Division were obtained from the National Archives. Among these records is a copy of a Medal of Honor award recommendation (DA Form 638) for one of the company commanders involved in the battle. This DA Form 638 shows that the FSM was apparently recommended for the Silver Star but it was downgraded to the BSM with “V” device and awarded per Americal Division General Order 7259 (noted above). Neither Department of the Army Casualty records or the operational summaries contain any reference to the FSM being awarded the Silver Star or to his having been wounded in action.

12. United States Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1, Awards and Decorations, provides in pertinent part, that commanding generals of divisions and above are authorized to approve award of the Silver Star and lesser awards.

13. Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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.

14. Department of the Army General Order Number 8, dated 1974, awarded all personnel assigned to the United States Army Vietnam from 8 February 1962 through 28 March 1973, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The evidence of record shows that the FSM’s Silver Star was downgraded to a BSM with “V” device. Why the FSM would have been presented with a Silver Star following the 12 – 14 May 1969 battle, as described in the affidavit from a former member of his unit, and why there is no evidence that it was downgraded in his military personnel file is, unfortunately, a conundrum not explainable from the evidence available. Nonetheless, the general order published by the Americal Division and the Medal of Honor recommendation of another officer in the battle clearly show that the FSM was awarded the BSM with “V” device for his actions on 14 May 1969, and the Board finds nothing in the record that warrants disputing the appropriateness of that award.

2. The applicant has provided statements from witnesses who were present at the scene of the action at Kham Duc, Vietnam. These witnesses state that the FSM was wounded in action at Kham Duc. Although medical evidence confirming the FSM’s wounds are not in the records available to the Board, the Board finds the witness statements credible as a basis to support award of the Purple Heart. Therefore, the Board has determined that the FSM is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds received on or about 13 May 1969 at Kham Duc, Vietnam.

3. Furthermore, the FSM’s separation document should be corrected to show all of the awards to which he is entitled, which in addition to those already listed on the DD Form 214, includes the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation, and of course, the Purple Heart.

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:

a. showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Vietnam in May 1969; and

         b. showing that he was also awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation.

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

BOARD VOTE:

__rvo___ ___rks___ ____dph_ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  _________Raymond V. O'Connor_____
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001063195
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	200110
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 107.00
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.