PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
                                   
        

         BOARD DATE: 29 October 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002072905


         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. Luis Almodova		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Chairperson
Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		Member
Ms. Barbara J. Lutz		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 requests, in effect, that his DD Form 214 be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart.

3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was awarded the Purple Heart the day after he was wounded and in the hospital in Vietnam. Until he received information from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee, he did not know that he had been awarded the Purple Heart.

4. The applicant submitted a copy of his DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge, with an effective date of
16 November 1967, and a copy of a Clinical Record Cover Sheet prepared by the 67^th Evacuation Hospital (SMBL) dated 21 November 1966 to support his contention.

5. The applicant’s military records show that the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 17 November 1965. He received his basic combat training at Fort Hood, Texas, and his advanced individual training at Fort Lewis, Washington. Upon completion of all required military training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). On
13 June 1966 he was promoted to the rank and pay grade of Private First Class,
E-3. This was also the highest rank and pay grade that he achieved while on active duty.

6. In July 1966, the applicant was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam as his first duty station. He was assigned to C Company, 1^st Battalion, 22^nd Infantry Regiment, 4^th Infantry Division.

7. The Clinical Record Cover Sheet that the applicant provided in support of his application reveals that on 9 November 1966, the applicant sustained a gunshot wound to the right scapula and the back while on a combat mission. He was evacuated from the combat zone to the 18^th Surgical Hospital in Pleiku and further evacuated to the 67^th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon. On 21 November 1966, the applicant was evacuated from Vietnam to the U.S. Army Hospital, Camp Zama, Japan, for further treatment. The Clinical Record Cover Sheet, in Item 25, Selected Administrative Data, indicates that the Purple Heart was awarded the applicant by the 18^th Surgical Hospital on 10 November 1966.

8. A search of names on the Vietnam Casualty List reveals that the applicant was wounded and corroborates the data shown on the Clinical Record Cover Sheet.

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9. On 30 December 1966, the applicant returned to Vietnam and rejoined his unit. He served with that unit until 11 July 1967 when he returned to the United States at the completion of his overseas tour.

10. While in Vietnam, the applicant was present and participated in the following campaigns: the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II, which extended from 1 July 1966 through 31 May 1967 and the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III, which extended from 1 June 1967 through 29 January 1968.

11. On his return to the United States, he was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia. On 16 November 1967, he was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service in the rank and pay grade of Private, E-2, and was transferred to the United States Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete the remainder of his Universal Military Training and Service Act obligation. He was honorably discharged from the US Army Reserve on
16 November 1971 at the expiration of his term of service.

12. When released from active duty, he had 2 years net active Federal service. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214, shows he was awarded the following: the National Defense Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device, the VSM with 1 bronze service star,
1 Overseas Service Bar, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

13. Item 40, Wounds, of the applicant's DA Forms 20, Enlisted Qualification Record, does not show that he was wounded. Item 41, Awards and Decorations, of the DA Form 20, is void of an entry showing the applicant's entitlement to award of the Purple Heart. There were no orders in the applicant's service personnel records awarding him the Purple Heart. A review of archived orders published by the 18^th Surgical Hospital was conducted, and no orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart were found.

14. Item 29, Qualification in Arms, DA Form 20, shows that in addition to qualifying as expert with the M-14 Rifle which is recorded on his DD Form 214, the applicant qualified in the degree of expert with the M-60 Machinegun and the automatic rifle in April 1966. These latter two qualifications in arms are not shown on his DD Form 214.

15. 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

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evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

16. Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the Vietnam Service Medal.

17. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in Vietnam. This document shows the unit, to which the applicant was assigned,
C Company, 1^st Battalion, 22^nd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation during the period from 1 August 1965 through 16 April 1971 by Department of the Army General Orders 54, dated 1974 and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class, Unit Citation, for the period from 1 October 1966 through 31 October 1969 by Department of the Army General Orders 53, dated 1970. The applicant is entitled to these awards by virtue of having been assigned to this unit at or during the time the unit was cited for the award. These awards should therefore be shown on his DD Form 214.

18. Army Regulation 670-1, in effect at the time, governed the requirements for the Overseas Service Bar. In pertinent part, it provided that a bar is authorized for wear for each period of active Federal service as a member of the U.S. Army outside of the continental limits of the United States. One overseas service bar is authorized for each six-month period served in the Republic of Vietnam. To calculate the entitlement, both the month of arrival and month of departure are counted as a whole month no matter the number of days in that month that were spent in the hostile fire zone.

19. Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, sets forth requirements for award of basic marksmanship qualification badges. The qualification badge is awarded to indicate the degree in which an individual has qualified in a prescribed record course, and an appropriate bar is furnished to denote each weapon with which the individual has qualified. The qualification badges are in three classes: Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. To be awarded the Purple Heart, the applicant would have to show that he was wounded and that: (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the

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wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record. The Vietnam Casualty List reveals that the applicant was wounded while serving in the Republic of Vietnam. A Clinical Record Cover Sheet was provided by the applicant which reveals the same information. The applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and is entitled to have it added to his DD Form 214.

2. The evidence of record shows that the applicant participated in the following campaigns during his tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam: the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II, and the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III; he is therefore entitled to two bronze service stars to be worn on his already awarded Vietnam Service Medal as opposed to the one bronze service star currently shown on his DD Form 214.

3. The applicant served in a unit during his tour of duty in the RVN that was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class, Unit Citation. He is therefore entitled to have his DD Forms 214 amended to add these unit awards.

4. The applicant qualified for award of the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Machinegun and Automatic Rifle Bars.

5. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

         a. deleting the Vietnam Service Medal with 1 bronze service star and the 1 Overseas Service Bar now shown in Item 24, DD Form 214;

         b. by awarding the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds sustain in combat on 9 November 1966; and

c. by amending the applicant's DD Form 214, Item 24, to add the following awards: the Purple Heart; the Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars; the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation;

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the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class, Unit Citation; , 2 Overseas Service Bars; and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Machinegun and Automatic Rifle Bars.

BOARD VOTE:

__kak___ __tap___ __bjl___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION



                           Karol A. Kennedy
                  ______________________
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002072905
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20021029
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.0000
2.	107.0015
3.
4.
5.
6.