PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:


         BOARD DATE: 10 JULY 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002081479


         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
Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson
Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member
Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		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 that his records be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart. He states he received the award during his first tour of duty in Vietnam and provides a copy of his Purple Heart certificate in support of his request. He also notes that the Department of Veterans Affairs has recognized his Purple Heart wound for Federal employment preference, but determined it was “noncompensable.” In addition to the copy of his Purple Heart certificate, the applicant also provides a copy of the Department of Veterans Affairs document noting his noncompensable Purple Heart disability for Federal employment preference.

3. Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant initially entered active duty on 19 April 1966. He was trained as an infantryman and following completion of training was ultimately assigned to the 3^rd Battalion, 506^th Infantry at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In October 1967 he deployed with that unit to Vietnam as was part of the 101^st Airborne Division.

4. According to item 40 (wounds) on his Department of the Army Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), the applicant sustained fragment wounds to his ear, neck and back on 15 February 1968. However, he was not awarded the Purple Heart until October 1968, after he had already departed Vietnam. Although records available to the Board do not contain copies of any orders awarding him the Purple Heart, and attempts to locate a copy of orders from files maintained by the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, were not successful, the applicant’s Purple Heart certificate, submitted in support of his request, was authenticated by Major General Melvin Zais, who assumed command of the 101^st Airborne Division in Vietnam in July 1968, and by Stanley R. Resor, who was Secretary of the Army at the time. The applicant’s name is not among a list of individuals reported as casualties during the Vietnam War.

5. During the applicant’s initial tour of duty in Vietnam his unit (3^rd Battalion, 506^th Infantry) was awarded a Valorous Unit Award, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and participated in four designated campaign periods (Vietnam Counteroffensive Phases III, IV, and V, and the TET Counteroffensive.) Service stars on the Vietnam Service Medal reflect campaign participation. A silver service star denotes participation in five designated campaigns, while a bronze service stars denote participation in single campaigns.

6. When the applicant was discharged on 18 April 1969 for the purpose of immediate reenlistment, several awards, including his Purple Heart, unit awards, and campaign participation stars, were omitted from his separation document.

7. Following the applicant’s April 1969 reenlistment, he returned to Vietnam in March 1971. During his second tour of duty he was assigned to a variety of organizations, including the 173^rd Support Battalion, the 501^st Infantry, and the 326^th Engineer Battalion. He returned to the United States in December 1971.

8. During his second tour of duty in Vietnam he participated in three more designated campaigns (Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VII, and Consolidation I and II). The units he was assigned to, however, did not receive any unit awards while he was assigned to them.

9. On 9 August 1974 the applicant was discharged. Although his 1974 separation document did consolidate several awards received by the applicant during his initial period of active duty (1966-1969), as well as those earned during his second period of active duty (1969-1974), not all of his decorations were recorded. Omitted again was his award of the Purple Heart and unit awards earned during his first tour of duty in Vietnam. The 1974 document also reflected entitlement to the Vietnam Service Medal “w/6 campaign stars” denoting the applicant’s participation in six designated campaign periods. That entry was clearly an attempt to show the applicant’s campaign participation during his two tours of duty in Vietnam.

10. Army Regulation 635-5, then in effect, established the policies and provisions for the preparation and distribution of separation documents. It noted that item 26 (awards) would reflect decorations, medals, badges, citations, and campaign ribbons awarded or authorized, and noted that the “item covers the entire Army service.”

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board notes that there are no orders in the applicant's available records awarding him the Purple Heart, however, the appropriate Secretary of the Army and the appropriate commander signed his award certificate. The date of the wound is also consistent with information reflected on his enlisted qualification record, in spite of the fact that the applicant’s name was not among a list of individuals reported as casualties during the Vietnam War. The fact that the certificate was issued after the applicant’s departure from Vietnam could explain the absence of the award on his separation document. In the absence orders, or evidence to the contrary, the Board accepts the applicant’s award certificate as authentication of entitlement to the Purple Heart and in the interest of justice concludes it would be appropriate to add the award to his separation document.

2. The Board also notes that the applicant is entitled to a Valorous Unit Award, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and four bronze service stars denoting participation in four designated campaigns during his initial tour of duty in Vietnam. The applicant is entitled to three additional campaign stars as a result of his second tour of duty in Vietnam.
3. While the Board acknowledges that a correction document could be issued to correct his 1969 separation document to reflect those awards earned during his initial period of active duty, the Board concludes that it would be more efficient, and less confusing, to merely correct his 1974 separation document to reflect all of the awards he earned during his two periods of active duty. As such, in the interest of clarity, and as an exception to policy, the Board concludes that it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s 1974 separation document to reflect award of the Purple Heart, and entitlement to a Valorous Unit Award, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and one silver and two bronze service star on his Vietnam Service Medal to denote participation in a total of seven designated campaign periods based on his two tours of duty in Vietnam.

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 on the applicant’s 1974 separation document that he was awarded a Purple Heart, and entitled to a Valorous Unit Award, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and one silver and two bronze service star on his Vietnam Service Medal.

BOARD VOTE:

__RWA__ __BJE __ __LCB __ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__ __ __ __ __ __ DENY APPLICATION




                  ____ Roger W. Able__ __
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002081479
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	20030710
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.