| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. W. E. Schnupp | Analyst |
| Ms. Joann H. Langston | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Melinda M. Darby | Member | |
| Mr. Ronald E. Blakely | Member |
2. The applicant requests, on behalf of her late husband, the former service member (FSM) that he be awarded the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant states that the FSM was wounded while flying a mission in Vietnam and is therefore, entitled to the Purple Heart. (The FSM’s remains are being held by the funeral home pending action on this request, and if favorable, he will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.)
4. In support of her request, the applicant submits a statement from an eyewitness, who was the co-pilot, when the FSM was wounded; a magazine article concerning the mission the FSM was on at the time he was wounded; an extract from a book about the FSM’s unit in Vietnam and a copy of his death certificate.
5. The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted on 6 October 1965 and was discharged effective 10 October 1966 for the purpose of accepting a warrant officer appointment. He reentered active duty on 11 October 1966 and subsequently graduated from the Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Course. He served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot with the 175th Aviation Company, 13th Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade, from 18 November 1966 to 9 November 1967. He was honorably released to the US Army Reserve on 10 October 1969, and died on 26 August 2002.
6. His awards include the Army Aviator Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with device 1960, the Air Medal with 29 oak leaf clusters (now numeral 29) and “V” device, the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with rifle bar and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with pistol bar. The Purple Heart is not listed as an authorized award.
7. According to the general orders awarding him the Air Medal for Heroism, on 26 March 1967, the FSM was the pilot of an aircraft transporting troops in a combat assault. Upon reaching the landing zone, they came under intense enemy fire and three helicopters were shot down with many Vietnamese and American casualties. The FSM’s helicopter, though hit by enemy fire, continued to participate in reinforcing and resupply airlifts under intense enemy fire until the mission was completed.
8. The eyewitness statement, submitted in support of the applicant’s request, states that the writer, who is now a medical doctor, was at the time of the combat operation on 26 March 1967, the FSM’s copilot. He says that during the operation the unit’s battalion commander was killed and their aircraft took many hits. He was hit in the leg by shrapnel and in the back of the flight helmet knocking him temporarily unconscious. At the same time, a .50 caliber round smashed through their windshield peppering the FSM’s lower face with plexiglass. They were able to fly out of the landing zone and return to home base where their helicopter was grounded because of bullet damage. The writer says that he received treatment for his injuries, and eventually the Purple Heart. He believes that the FSM sought medical attention as well when they returned to home base. Today, as a physician, the witness says that his clear memory of the FSM’s wounds is that they would have required medical treatment to extract the plexiglass as well as irrigate the wounds.
9. On 17 September 2002, a member of the Army Review Boards Agency, Screening Team, reviewed the historical files of the 175th Aviation Company, 13th Aviation Battalion, at the National Archives and its involvement in the 26 March 1967 combat operation. The review confirmed the copilot’s recollection of events to include the fact that their battalion commander was killed in the action and that he was awarded the Purple Heart and the FSM was awarded the Air Medal for Heroism. However, the review failed to identify the FSM as having been awarded the Purple Heart.
10. The FSM’s name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.
11. 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.
12. The same regulation provides that service stars are worn on campaign and service ribbons to denote an additional award. The service star is a bronze five-pointed star that when worn on the Vietnam Service Medal denotes the number of campaigns in which the wearer participated. In the FSM’s case, he is entitled to two such stars for the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II, from 1 July 1966 to 31 May 1967; and the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III, from 1 June 1967 to 29 January 1968; rather than only one as is now shown in his record.
13. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, shows that the FSM’s unit of assignment in Vietnam, the 175th Aviation Company, was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period 1 March 1966 to 26 March 1967.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. While the applicant’s records contain no reference to his having been wounded in action, the statement from the eyewitness, who also happened to be the FSM’s copilot at the time they were both wounded, makes a compelling case for finding that the FSM was wounded in action. Whether his wounds would or would not have required treatment by a physician and have been made a matter of official record, as required by regulation, they nevertheless were the result of combat with the enemy and the Board is of the opinion they should be recognized with the award of the Purple Heart.
2. Additionally, after review of the FSM’s record, he is also entitled to a second bronze service star on his Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.
3. In view of the foregoing, the FSM’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 for wounds received in Vietnam on 26 March 1967; received a second bronze service star to be worn on his Vietnam Service Medal and was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.
BOARD VOTE:
___reb___ ___jhl___ __mmd__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
_________Joann H. Langston_____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002078743 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020919 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT PLUS) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 107.00 | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002078739C070215
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ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100012127
The two eyewitness statements provided by the applicant both give an account of the helicopter hovering, in an attempt to drop supplies in an LZ which was under direct enemy fire. The report, which was performed at the time, shows that the helicopter crash in which the applicant was injured was investigated and determined by safety officials to have been the result of an accident, not the result of enemy action or sabotage. Two eyewitness accounts of the incident state the helicopter was...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140019081
The applicant's record contains numerous documents that show he was involved in an aviation accident on 10 February 1969, in which the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he co-piloted crashed while he and fellow crewmembers were conducting resupply operations at Firebase Erskine. Documentation and witnesses indicate enemy ground fire caused the crash of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter on 10 February 1969, which wounded the entire crew and killed 3 Marines. The evidence of record does not support the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090016118
She also indicates that search and rescue did not indicate weather as being a factor in the search effort started within 2 hours of the crash and that the investigating authority properly declared the cause of the crash as "unknown" and without evidence of hostile fire postulated pilot error as a likely cause since mechanical malfunctions and radio problems could be reasonably eliminated and evidence of hostile fire existed. The applicant provides a letter, dated 10 April 2003, from the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120006831
He further states the aircraft commander and he were severely injured and medically evacuated to the 67th Evacuation Hospital at Pleiku and to the 61st Medical Battalion in Qui Nhon. The applicant provides: * DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) dated 16 October 1971 * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 30 September 1980 * Honorable Discharge Certificate * Self-authored memoir of the events that led to the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120021543
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ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100022752
The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart for a combat injury he received while serving in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). The applicant provides copies of the following in support of his application: * U.S. Army Human Resources Command (USAHRC), Awards and Decorations Branch memorandum, dated 22 June 2010 * Self-authored account of events titled, Vietnam - 1967 "Eternal Memories, a Frightening Encounter" * Three Witness Statements * Post Service Medical Records * USAHRC, Military...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110005233
The applicant requests correction of his military records to show the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal. The applicant states he was given a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal for actions while serving in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) during the period June 1971 - March 1972. In the absence of such evidence, there is insufficient basis to correct his records to show he was awarded the Purple Heart or the Bronze Star Medal.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080001054
The applicant's records show that he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal. There is no evidence to show that the applicant was wounded by shrapnel in his right hand in the Republic of Vietnam, on 27 May 1968. Therefore, the Board requests that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual concerned to show the award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, and one silver service star to be affixed to his Vietnam Service Medal.