PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 8 May 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003084368


         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. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson
Mr. Mark D. Manning		Member
Mr. Robert L. Duecaster		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

3. The applicant states, in effect, that after leaving the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), where he had been hospitalized for about two months, he was sent to Fort Carson, Colorado, to complete his last six months of service. He claims that while there, he was told that he had been recommended for the PH. However, he never received any paperwork or special orders concerning the award. He states that during his separation processing, he was told that the award was still being processed.

4. The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 16 August 1967. He successfully completed basic training Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and advanced individual training (AIT) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Upon completion of AIT, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13A (Cannoneer) and he was assigned to the RVN for his first permanent duty station.

5. The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows that
the applicant served in the RVN from 13 January 1968 through 8 January
1969 with the following units for the periods indicated: Battery (Btry) C,
7^th Battalion (Bn), 13^th Artillery (Arty), United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) from 16 to 31 January 1968; Service Btry, 7^th Bn, 13^th Arty, USARPAC, from
1 February to 17 May 1968; and B Btry, 6^th Bn, 84^th Arty, United States Army Vietnam (USARV), from 18 May 1968 to 8 January 1969.

6. Item 39 of the applicant’s DA Form 20 shows that he was credited with participating in the Vietnam Counteroffensive and TET Counteroffensive campaigns while serving in the RVN. Item 40 (Wounds) contains no entry, which indicates that he was not wounded or injured in action during his active duty tenure. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) contains a list of the awards he received during his active duty tenure. This list includes the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM), Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) with 2 bronze service stars, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal (VCM).

7. The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains no orders or other documents showing that he was ever wounded or injured in action, or that he was ever recommended for the PH. The MPRJ is also void of any derogatory information that would have disqualified him from receiving the Army Good Conduct Medal, or of a disqualification for this award by any of the active duty commanders for which he served.

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8. The MPRJ does contain a copy of a Record of Medical Examination (SF 88) that confirms the applicant took an expiration of term of service (ETS) physical examination on 23 July 1969. The SF 88 gives no indication that he was wounded or injured in action. It contains the entry “None” in the Significant or Internal History and Summary of Defects blocks, where an entry documenting any wound or injury received as a result of enemy action could be expected to be entered.

9. On 15 August 1969 the applicant was honorably REFRAD by reason of ETS. At the time of his separation he held the rank of private first class and he had completed a total of 2 years of active military service.

10. The separation document (DD Form 214) issued to the applicant on the date of his separation contains a list of awards he earned during his active duty tenure. This list includes the NDSM, VSM with 2 bronze service stars, and the VCM. The PH is not included in the list of authorized awards. The applicant authenticated the DD Form 214 with his signature on the date of his separation, thereby verifying that the information contained therein was correct at the time it was prepared and issued.

11. In connection with the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff reviewed the Department of the Army (DA) Vietnam Casualty Roster, which contains the names of those soldiers wounded or injured in action in the RVN. The applicant’s name was not included in this DA list of soldiers who were reported as RVN battle casualties.

12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards. Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH. It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded to any member who has been wounded or killed in action. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under conditions defined by this regulation. In order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer. This treatment must be supported by records of medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record.

13. Chapter 4 of the awards regulation prescribes the policy for award of the AGCM. It states, in pertinent part, that it is authorized for each 3 years of qualifying honorable service completed on or after 27 August 1940. However, for the first award only, a period of more than 1 year is a qualifying period if it is awarded upon the termination of active service. While there is no automatic entitlement to the AGCM, disqualification must be justified.

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14. Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) establishes the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during the Vietnam Conflict. It confirms that during his tenure of assignment in the RVN, the applicant’s unit (7^th Bn, 13^th Arty) earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm. No additional awards were earned by the applicant’s second unit (84^th Arty) during his assignment tenure.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board notes the applicant’s contention that he is entitled to the PH. However, it finds insufficient evidence to support this claim. By regulation, in order to award the PH it is necessary to establish that a soldier was wounded in action, that the wound required treatment by a medical officer, and that the record of medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2. The evidence of record provides no confirmation that the applicant was ever wounded in action or that he was ever treated for a wound or injury received in action. The Board considered the applicant’s claim that he was hospitalized in the RVN and told that he was being recommended for the PH. However, these factors do not provide an evidentiary basis to support awarding the PH.

3. In order to support an award of the PH, the wound or injury for which it is being awarded must have been incurred as a result of enemy action. The applicant has failed to provide any independent evidence to show that this is the case. Lacking any evidence to support his claim of entitlement to the PH, the Board is compelled to deny his request for the PH in the interest of all those who served in the RVN and who faced similar circumstances.

4. During its review of this case, the Board discovered that the applicant is entitled to awards that were not included in either his record or his separation document. Lacking any derogatory information on file that would disqualify him from receiving the AGCM, or a specific disqualification from any of the active duty unit commanders for which he served, the Board finds that he is entitled to the first award of the AGCM based on his qualifying period of honorable active duty service from 16 August 1967 through 15 August 1969.

5. The record also confirms that based on his unit service in the RVN, he is entitled to the Meritorious Unit Commendation and RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm. Thus, the Board concludes that it would also be appropriate to add these awards to his record at this time.

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 awarding the individual concerned the first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, for his qualifying period of honorable service from 16 August 1967 through 15 August 1969; by showing he earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation based on his unit service in the RVN; and by providing him a corrected separation document that reflects these awards.

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

BOARD VOTE:

_MDM___ __SAC__ _RLD___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  Samuel A. Crumpler
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003084368
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	2003/05/08
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1969/08/15
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200
DISCHARGE REASON	ETS
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 61	107.0015
2. 46	107.0000
3.
4.
5.
6.