PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF
        

         BOARD DATE: 5 August 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003086692

         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. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson
Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member
Mr. Ronald J. Weaver		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, he should have received the PH for wounds he received in action in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) on 13 June 1969. He claims that his wounds were from small arms fire and grenade shrapnel. He further indicates that his commanding officer (CO) at the time indicated that he should receive the PH as a result of his receiving these wounds. In support of his application, he provides a supporting statement from his CO at the time that includes information from unit daily summaries maintained at the National Archives.

4. The applicant’s military records show that he initially entered active duty in the Regular Army in an enlisted status on 24 May 1967. On 2 May 1968, upon completion of Officer Candidate School (OCS), he was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant and remained on active duty in that status.

5. The applicant’s Officer Qualification Record (DA Form 66), confirms that he served in the RVN from 5 February 1969 through 3 February 1970. It also shows that during his tour in the RVN, he served with Company C, 2^nd Battalion,
7^th Cavalry Regiment, 1^st Cavalry Division, as an infantry platoon leader, from
20 February 1969 through 21 October 1969; and that he served as a security platoon leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC),
1^st Brigade, 1^st Cavalry Division from 22 October 1969 through 29 January 1970.

6. Item 21 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant’s DA Form 66 shows that he earned the following awards during his active duty tenure: National Defense Service Medal (NDSM); Vietnam Service Medal (VSM); Air Medal (AM); RVN Campaign Medal; Bronze Star Medal (BSM) 1^st Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC); BSM with Valor (“V”) Device; and RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation. The PH is not included in this list of earned awards.

7. The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains copies of general orders that awarded the applicant the BSM with “V” Device, for heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the RVN on
24 February 1969, and the BSM 1^st OLC, for meritorious service in the RVN for the period January 1969 to January 1970. The applicant’s name is not listed on the Department of the Army Vietnam Casualty Roster, which contains the names of those soldiers wounded or injured in action in the RVN.

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8. On 8 February 1970, the applicant was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD). At the time of his separation, he held the rank of first lieutenant and he had completed a total of 2 years, 9 months, and 15 days of active military service. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his separation document (DD Form 214) shows that he earned the following awards during his active duty tenure: NDSM; VSM; AM; RVN Campaign Medal; BSM 1^st OLC; and RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

9. The applicant provides a third-party statement from his CO in the RVN, which includes information from his unit’s daily summaries for 13 and 14 June 1969, which are maintained at the National Archives. In his supporting letter, the applicant’s CO in the RVN outlines the circumstances and events that led to the applicant being wounded in action on 13 June 1969. He indicates that his statement is based on his best recollection and on daily unit summaries he received from the National Archives.

10. In his statement, the former CO states that he personally observed the wounds the applicant received and saw blood coming from several fragmentation wounds the applicant had received. He further indicates that it was routine practice for the medical corpsmen (Medics) in the field to check and treat wounds, and prepare a field report that would ensure the wounded soldier would receive the PH. He states that this obviously did not happen in the applicant’s case or the paperwork was lost. He also indicates that the applicant refused medical evacuation, and he strongly encourages that the military records of the applicant be corrected to document the wounds he received in action and that the applicant be awarded the PH as a result.

11. The former CO also states that the unit daily summaries maintained at the National Archives indicate that on 13 and 14 June 1969, Company C sprung an ambush on four enemy personnel. After the ambush Company C trapped one individual in a bunker. Throughout the afternoon of 13 June, the bunker was engaged with small arms, and at 2000hrs, the platoon leader of Company C’s third platoon jumped into the bunker and engaged with a rifle. The individual occupying the bunker returned fire and the platoon leader was wounded. The CO confirms that the platoon referred to in the daily summaries was the second platoon and that the platoon leader who was wounded was in fact the applicant.

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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. Paragraph 2-13 of the awards regulation contains guidance on award of the VSM. It states, in pertinent part, that a bronze service star is authorized for each campaign a member is credited with participating in while serving in the RVN. Table B-1 contains a list of campaigns and it shows that during assignment tenure, the applicant was credited with participating in the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VI, TET 69 Counteroffensive, Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969, and Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 campaigns.

14. Paragraph 8-6 of the awards regulation contains guidance on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). It states, in pertinent part, that in order to be eligible for this award a soldier must be an Army infantry or special forces officer in the grade of colonel or below who has satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry, ranger or special forces unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat.

15. 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 (HHC, 1^st Brigade, 1^st Cavalry Divisions) earned the RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.

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CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board notes the applicant’s contention that the PH should be added to his record based on his being wounded in action in Korea, and it finds this claim has merit. By regulation, in order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that a member was wounded in action, that the wound for which the award is being made required treatment by a medical officer, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record.

2. Although the standard evidentiary documentation required for awarding the PH is not present in this case, the Board does find the unit daily summaries on file at the National Archives, coupled with the information and affirmation provided by the applicant’s former CO are sufficiently credible to support the applicant’s claim that he was wounded in action in the RVN on 13 June 1969, and as a result is entitled to the PH. Therefore, the Board concludes the applicant should be awarded the PH and this award should be added to his record at this time.

3. During its review of this case, the Board also discovered that the applicant is entitled to receive the CIB based on his qualifying combat service as an infantry platoon leader who actively engaged in ground combat with an infantry unit of regimental or smaller size while serving in the RVN. The record also confirms his entitlement to 4 bronze service stars with his VSM and the RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation based on his campaign participation and unit service in the RVN. Further, while his DD Form 214 does properly reflect that he earned the Bronze Star Medal 1^st OLC, it does not show that he earned a “V” Device with his first Bronze Star Medal. Thus, the Board concludes it would also be appropriate to correct the record to reflect all these earned awards.

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

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RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart, for being wounded
in action on 13 June 1969 while serving as a first lieutenant in the RVN; by awarding him the Combat Infantryman Badge for his qualifying combat service
in the RVN; by showing he is entitled to 4 bronze service stars with his Vietnam Service Medal and to the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal;
by showing that he earned the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and
1^st Oak Leaf Cluster; and by providing him a corrected separation document that includes these awards.

BOARD VOTE:

__LS__ _RJW___ __CLG__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  Luther L. Santiful
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003086692
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	2003/08/DD
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1970/02/08
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-100
DISCHARGE REASON	Completion of Required Service
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 61	107.0015
2. 46	107.0000
3.
4.
5.
6.