PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 29 October 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002073111


         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 wounded 4 times while serving in Vietnam.

4. The applicant submitted a copy of page 4 of his DA Form 20, Enlisted Qualification Record, to support his contention.

5. The applicant’s official military records are not available. He was discharged from the Army on temporary records; however, the available documents show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 27 June 1968 with an enlistment option to be trained and assigned in Army Career Group 31, Field Communications Equipment Repair. Upon completion of all required military training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 31B (Field Radio Operator Repairman), and following all military training, he was assigned to B Company, 547^th Engineer Battalion in Germany. After approximately 8 months in Germany, he was voluntarily reassigned to the Republic of Vietnam (RVN).

6. The applicant arrived in the RVN during the month of June 1969. He was assigned to B Company, 1^st Battalion, 61^st Infantry, 5^th Infantry Division.

7. On 18 August 1969, while on a combat operation, the applicant was wounded when the military vehicle in which he was a passenger detonated a mine. This information was gleaned from a copy of the Western Union Telegram that was sent to his mother after he was wounded and hospitalized for treatment. According to the telegram, the applicant received a laceration to the right leg and bruises to the back. The applicant's name also appears on the Vietnam Casualty List. The date, 18 August 1969, appears on both document as the date the wound was sustained. The copy of the telegram is contained in the individual's temporary military personnel record.

8. Item 40, Wounds, DA Form 20, shows the following as brief descriptions of wounds allegedly sustained by the applicant: "Mine Explosion in Chest, Face (Vietnam)/August 1969; Shot in Right Leg (Vietnam)/September 1969; Wounded Booby Trap Left Knee Cap (Vietnam)/ September 1969; and Shrapnel in Right Arm (Vietnam)/October 1969."

9. The applicant was reassigned from Vietnam to Okinawa in response to his application for identification and assignment as a sole surviving son. He served in Okinawa until he was medically evacuated to the United States to be processed for disability separation not directly related to his wounds.

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10. On his return to the United States, he was initially assigned to Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and later to Walson Army Hospital, Fort Dix, New Jersey. On 26 January 1972, he was honorably discharged for medical disability reasons in the rank and pay grade of Sergeant, E-5. On the date of his discharge, the applicant had 3 years, and 7 months 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 and the "Vietnam Service & Campaign Medals."

11. 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.

12. 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 the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

13. 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.

14. 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,
B Company, 1^st Battalion, 61^st Infantry, 5^th Infantry Division was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation by Department of the Army General Orders 8, published in 1974. The applicant is entitled to this award for his service while assigned to the unit at or during the time the unit was cited for the award.

15. Army Regulation 635-5 governs the preparation and distribution of the
DD Form 214. The regulation specifies that awards and decorations will be listed in the priority sequence specified in AR 600-8-22. Abbreviations and other forms of contractions are prohibited in this item.

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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 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 Western Union Telegram sent to his mother reveals the same information. The applicant is entitled to 1 award of the Purple Heart and is entitled to have it added to his
DD Form 214.

2. There is no official documentary support for the entries found in Item 40 of the DA Form 20 indicating that the applicant was wounded 4 times while he served in Vietnam. The Board notes that the only substantiated/supported wound that the applicant sustained is not recorded in Item 40.

3. The applicant's DD Form 214, Item 24, shows that he is entitled to the "Vietnam Service and Campaign Medals." This entry is not in accordance with AR 635-5 which governs the preparation of the DD Form 214. These awards should be shown correctly on the DD Form 214.

4. The evidence of record shows that the applicant participated in the following campaign during his tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam: the Vietnam Summer-Fall, 1969 Campaign, which extended from 9 June through 31 October 1969. He is therefore entitled to one bronze service star to be worn on his already awarded Vietnam Service Medal.

5. 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, he is therefore entitled to have his DD Form 214 amended to add this unit award.

6. 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. deleting the entry, "Vietnam Service & Campaign Medals" now shown in Item 24, DD Form 214;

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         b. by awarding the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds sustain in combat on 18 August 1969; 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 1 bronze service star, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device, and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

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

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	AR2002073111
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.