PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            29 OCTOBER 2002
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002076449


      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. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.      |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Barbara J. Ellis              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Karen A. Heinz                |     |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.
2.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.  He states that he
never paid attention to his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge).
He submits a copy of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record).

3.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Army for
three years on 12 January 1967.  He completed basic combat training at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina, where he was awarded the Marksmanship Marksman
Qualification Badge with rifle bar.  He completed training as an
infantryman at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and in June 1967 was assigned
to an infantry company in Germany.  In February 1968 orders were published
assigning him to Fort Lewis, Washington, for further assignment to Vietnam.

4.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 shows that he was assigned to Company A,
       1st Battalion of the 327th Infantry in Vietnam as an infantryman on
8 April 1968.
That form also shows that he sustained frags (fragmentation wounds) to his
back and both legs on 20 April 1968.

5.  Orders published by the Army Personnel Center Far East on 10 June 1968
show that the applicant, then assigned to the Patient Casual Detachment
(106th General Hospital), was directed to report to Tachikawa Air Base in
Japan for further assignment to Vietnam.

6.  The applicant completed his tour in Vietnam and was assigned to Fort
Riley, Kansas.  His DD Form 214 shows that he served in Vietnam from 30
March 1968 through 29 March 1969.  He participated in five campaigns during
his tour in Vietnam. The 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry was awarded the
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm and the
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation for
its actions while the applicant was assigned to that unit.

7.  A 17 November 1969 report of medical examination shows that the
applicant was medically qualified for discharge.  That report does not
indicate that the applicant was wounded in action.  In the report of
medical history that he furnished for the examination, the applicant did
not indicate that he had been hospitalized or that he had been wounded.

8.  The applicant was released from active duty on 13 January 1970.  His
            DD Form 214 shows that he was awarded the National Defense
Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge,
the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal.
It does not show award of the Purple Heart, the above mentioned unit
citations, or his marksmanship badge.  It does not credit him with
participation in five campaigns, i.e., one silver service star to his
Vietnam Service Medal.

9.  The applicant is not listed as a casualty on the Vietnam Casualty
Roster maintained by this agency.
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s physical examination reports dated just prior to his
release from active duty fail to indicate that he was wounded.  He is not
listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster, a listing of soldiers who were
wounded in Vietnam.

2.  Nonetheless, the entry on his qualification record shows that he was
wounded in action.  He was hospitalized in Japan as indicated in orders
returning him to Vietnam. The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman
Badge and the Air Medal, among others.  Although the evidence that he was
wounded in action is not overwhelming, any doubt should be resolved in
favor of the applicant.  Consequently, the applicant should be entitled to
award of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 20 April 1968.


3.  The applicant is also entitled to award of the Marksmanship Marksman
Qualification Badge with rifle bar, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal
First Class Unit Citation, and the Vietnam Service Medal with one silver
service star.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be
corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple
Heart, the Marksmanship Marksman Qualification Badge with rifle bar, the
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic
of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and the
Vietnam Service Medal with one silver service star.

BOARD VOTE:

__RVO__  __BJE___  __KAH__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION



            Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.
                    CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2002076449                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20021029                                |
|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.       |                                        |
|2.                      |107.00                                  |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |