RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           23 SEPTEMBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003099238


      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 Wagner                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Roger Able                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Eloise Prendergast            |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that he be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds
that he received in the central highlands region of Vietnam on 6 September
1962.

2.  The applicant states that the requirement that the fact that he was
wounded be reported on a morning report is unreasonable because of the
nature of the mission that he was on.  Because his special forces
detachment was split in two locations some distance apart, he did not have
a medic on patrol with him.  Most of the time only two Americans were
present, the remainder being Montagnard tribesmen.  Initially, because of
the classification of the mission he was not put in for the award.  Later,
when the mission was declassified, he had difficulty locating his former
team members.

3.  The applicant provides a statement from his former detachment
commander, executive officer, team member, and interpreter.  He provides a
copy of a photograph.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 31 October 1973.  The application submitted in this case
is dated     1 November 2003.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant entered on active duty in 1950, served in the Korean War,
and attained the rank of master sergeant.  He was honorably discharged on 8
May 1969 with over 18 years of service to accept an appointment as an
infantry captain in the Army Reserve on 9 May 1969, with concurrent call to
active duty.  He was released from active duty in the grade of captain on
29 October 1973.  He immediately enlisted in the Regular Army in pay grade
E-8 and retired in that grade on 1 November 1973.  On 28 August 1980 he was
advanced on the retired list to captain, the highest active duty grade he
satisfactorily held.

4.  The applicant was an infantryman who served in combat in Korea and
Vietnam, and has received two awards of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  He
was a master parachutist, ranger, and special forces Soldier.  He has
received multiple awards of the Army Commendation Medal, the Bronze Star
Medal, Air Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal.  His other awards include the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device and
the Soldier's Medal.  He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received
in action on         4 June 1970.

5.  On 14 April 2003, in response to an inquiry from a Member of Congress
(MC), the Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) stated that the applicant
was not listed as being wounded on the casualty report records, and that
verification of entitlement to additional awards of the Purple Heart might
be possible by obtaining unit morning reports and hospital admission
listings, and that the applicant should contact the National Personnel
Records Center for this information.  The MC was also informed that if the
applicant was receiving veterans benefits, the Veterans Administration
might have documentation concerning the injuries he incurred on 6 September
1962 during his service in Vietnam.

6.  On 29 August 2003, in response to an inquiry from a MC, PERSCOM stated
that it could add nothing to its previous correspondence on this matter -
that without official documentation reflecting treatment for wounds
received as a direct result of enemy action, award of the Purple Heart
could not be authorized.  The MC was advised that the applicant could apply
to this Board for relief.

7.  The applicant's former detachment commander, in his statement of
support, stated that the applicant contracted an arm wound because of
contact with a punji stick, but the wound was not severe enough to require
evacuation and was treated by the detachment medical sergeant.  He stated
that there was no            medical report submitted at the time of the
incident, nor a morning report entry, in that the detachment was under the
operational control of the Central Intelligence Agency, and they were
instructed to disavow any official connection with the Army. He stated that
he never signed any morning reports or casualty reports and doubted that
there were any records beyond those submitted by      Company B, 1st
Special Forces Group (Okinawa) indicating their deployment to Vietnam.

8.  The applicant's former executive officer stated that the special forces
detachment was operating as two half teams from September 1962 to January
of 1963 and that he was in charge of one half, and that the applicant was
the operations and intelligence Soldier assigned to his half.  He stated
that reporting was limited to periodic summaries of operational details
that were encrypted and that only the most urgent information was passed
on.  There was no voice contact and he assumed that morning report entries
were made by the parent unit in Okinawa.  They had no contact with the
parent unit.  Their combat operations were performed with Montagnard
troops.  On 6 September 1962 the applicant and himself were leading a
patrol, which was ambushed, and that while crawling through a wooded area
and under fire, the applicant sliced his elbow on a punji stake.  He stated
that he [the former executive officer] treated him and bandaged the wound
and that the applicant continued the mission.  He stated that when they
returned to base camp a few days later, the team medic further cleaned the
wound and stitched it up.  He stated that he never recommended the
applicant for the Purple Heart.  At that stage of the war they were ordered
to keep a low profile.  None of the detachment personnel received any
awards.  He stated that the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple
Heart.  He was a first hand witness to the fact that he was wounded in
combat in 1962.

9.  In a 21 November 2002 letter to a MC, a retired Army colonel stated
that he and the applicant served together in Vietnam in 1962, and that they
were on patrol on 6 September of that year when the applicant was wounded
by a punji stake to his left arm, and since they were in an extremely
isolated location in the central highlands with no direct support, the
applicant was treated by the team medic and remained on site with the
patrol.

10.  In a 22 July 2003 statement, the former detachment interpreter stated
that the applicant was wounded in the left arm by a punji stake while
maneuvering through thick jungle growth.  He stated that at the time they
were engaged in a firefight with Viet Cong forces, and since they were in
an extremely isolated location with no direct support, the applicant was
treated by the team medic and remained on site, continuing to combat the
Viet Cong.

11.  There is no medical evidence to show that the applicant was wounded in
Vietnam in 1962.  His 23 January 1969 report of medical examination and the
report of medical history that he furnished for the examination fail to
show that he was wounded.  The applicant's 13 July 1973 retirement physical
does not reflect that he was wounded.

12.  The Vietnam casualty roster maintained by this agency shows that the
applicant was wounded in action in June 1970; however, does not reflect
that he was wounded on any other occasion.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no medical evidence, and the applicant has not submitted any,
to show that he was wounded as a result of hostile action in 1962.  While
the Board does not dispute the statement of events provided by the
applicant and his former comrades, such individual statements are
acceptable only where corroborating evidence is available from official
sources.  Such evidence is not available.  Consequently, there is
insufficient evidence to show that the applicant was wounded in action, and
consequently no grounds to award the Purple Heart.
2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 31 October 1973; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on         30 October 1976.  However, the applicant did
not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a
compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest
of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

___RW  _  ___RA __  ___EP __  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

Notwithstanding the discussion and conclusions in this case, the Board
determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a
recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by showing award of the Purple Heart for
being wounded as a result of hostile action on 6 September 1962.




            ___ Raymond Wagner_____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003099238                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040923                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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