RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: FEBRUARY 3, 2004
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003090174


         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. Luis Almodova		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson
Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member
Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		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).

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THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1. The applicant requests, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart for an injury he sustained, in Vietnam, on 24 July 1967.

2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was attacked while on duty in Vietnam and was cut with a machete.

3. The applicant provides a copy of a Standard Form (SF) 600, Chronological Record of Medical Care, dated 24 July 1967, in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1. The applicant is requesting correction of an injustice, which occurred on 31 December 1974. The application submitted in this case is dated 16 April 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’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 December 1954. The applicant served to the end of his induction, 12 December 1956, and enlisted in the Regular Army on 13 December 1956 for 3 years. He continued his Army service for the next 20 years and 12 days, and on 31 December 1974, he was honorably discharged in the rank and pay grade, Staff Sergeant, E-6, for the purpose of non-disability retirement.

4. The applicant served three tours of duty in Vietnam: from 4 October 1966 through 26 September 1967, from 16 November 1968 through 27 October 1969, and from 6 August 1970 through 1 August 1971.

5. Block 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty), with an effective date of 31 December 1974, shows he earned the following awards throughout his career: the Good Conduct Medal (1st through 5th Awards), the National Defense Service Medal; the Vietnam Service Medal; the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with '60 Device; and the Expert Infantryman Badge. The Purple Heart is not shown on the applicant's DD Form 214.

6. There is no entry in Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20, Enlisted Qualification Record, nor in Item 4 (Assignment Considerations) on the applicant's DA Form 2-1, Personnel Qualification Record, Part II, to show that he was wounded in action against a hostile force. There is no entry in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations), of the DA Form 20, nor in Item 9 (Awards, Decorations, and Campaigns) of the applicant's DA Form 2-1, showing that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart. There are no orders in the applicant's military personnel records awarding him the Purple Heart and the applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.

7. The SF 600, that the applicant provided, which was completed on 24 July 1967, at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital, states, "Patient allegedly cut on forehead with machete – not unconscious – neurological [examination] within normal limits. Has a 3 cm long cut on forehead. X-Rays negative except for slight groove in outer table of bone. Outer table of bone intact. Wound cleansed and sutured. Tetanus Toxoid 0.5 cc."

8. A member of the staff reviewed the historical records for the 169th Engineer Battalion and the 93rd Evacuation Hospital at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland, pertinent to the applicant allegedly being attacked and wounded with a machete. This review failed to reveal any of the details about the applicant's injury to the head.

9. The applicant's DD Form 214, with an effective date of 31 December 1974, shows entitlement to the Vietnam Service Medal; however, it does not show the number of service stars to which the applicant is entitled for campaign participation.

10. The applicant participated in the following two campaigns, during his first tour of duty in Vietnam: the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II, which extended from 1 July 1966 through 31 May 1967; and the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III, which extended from 1 June 1967 through 29 January 1968.

11. The applicant participated in the following three campaigns, during his second tour of duty in Vietnam: the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VI, which extended from 2 November 1968 through 22 February 1969; the Tet 69 Counteroffensive, which extended from 23 February through 8 June 1969; and the Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969, which extended from 9 June through 31 October 1969.

12. The applicant participated in the following two campaigns, during his third tour of duty in Vietnam: the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VII, which extended from 1 July 1970 through 30 June 1971; and the Consolidation I, which extended from 1 July through 30 November 1971.

13. Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in its Appendix B and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal, in this case, the Vietnam Service Medal. The regulation further specifies that a silver service star will be awarded in lieu of five bronze service stars.

14. AR 600-8-22 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: a.) the wound was the result of hostile action, b.) the wound must have required treatment, and c.) the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

15. Department of the Army (DA) Pamphlet 672-3, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 29 January 1988, which lists unit awards received by units serving in Vietnam, shows that the unit the applicant was assigned to, during his first tour of duty in Vietnam, Company A, 169th Engineer Battalion (Construction), was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation, for the period June 1966 through April 1967, by Department of the Army General Orders (DAGO) Number 17, dated 1968, and for the period 1 May through 31 October 1967, by DAGO Number 66, dated 1968. The unit was also awarded the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class, Unit Citation, by DAGO Number 43, dated 1970.

16. DA Pamphlet 672-3 also shows that the unit the applicant was assigned to during his second tour of duty in Vietnam, the 147th Maintenance Company (LEM (Light Equipment Maintenance)), was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation, for the period 20 July 1966 through 30 November 1968, by DAGO Number 60, dated 1969, and for the period 1 January 1969 through 15 February 1970, by DAGO Number 43, dated 1972.

17. DA Pamphlet 672-3 further shows that the unit the applicant was assigned to during his third tour of duty in Vietnam, Company A, 577th Engineer Battalion (Construction), a subordinate unit of the US Army Vietnam, was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, with Palm, Unit Citation, by DAGO Number 8, dated 1974.

18. AR 670-1, chapter 29, prescribes policy and guidance for wear of U.S. and foreign unit awards. This regulation states that a soldier may wear the unit award permanently if the individual was assigned to, and present for duty with the unit any time during the period cited; or was attached by competent orders to, and present for duty with the unit during the entire period, or for at least thirty consecutive days of the period cited. Individuals may not wear more than

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one Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation and one Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal Unit Citation; this precludes wear of the Vietnamese fourrageres, which represent additional unit awards.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1. The applicant sustained a cut on the head while he served in Vietnam on 24 July 1967. The SF 600, which the applicant provided, in support of his request for award of the Purple Heart, does not include any details on how, when, and where the cut was inflicted.

2. The historical records, at the National Archives, for the 169th Engineer Battalion and the 93rd Evacuation Hospital failed to reveal any of the details about the applicant's being allegedly attacked with a machete.

3. The SF 600 lacks a statement linking the cut to hostile enemy action. Because there is insufficient evidence that the wounded was sustained, in combat, and as the result of hostile action, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart at this time.

4. The applicant participated in seven campaigns during his tours of duty in Vietnam. He is therefore entitled to award of one silver service star and two bronze service stars to be affixed to his already-awarded Vietnam Service Medal and to have them shown on his separation document.

5. During his three tours of duty in Vietnam, the applicant served in units that were awarded a total of four Meritorious Unit Commendations [in effect, the Meritorious Unit Commendation with three oak leaf clusters]; the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, with Palm, Unit Citation; and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class, Unit Citation. These unit awards are not shown on his DD Form 214, with an effective date of 31 December 1974. He is entitled to these unit awards and to have them added to this DD Form 214 at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

sac_____ rks_____ clg_____ GRANT RELIEF

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION

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1. The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial 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 awarding the applicant one silver service star and two bronze service stars to be affixed to his already-awarded Vietnam Service Medal, to denote his Vietnam campaign participation; four Meritorious Unit Commendations, in effect, the Meritorious Unit Commendation with three oak leaf clusters; the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, with Palm, Unit Citation; and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class, Unit Citation; and having these awards added to his DD Form 214, with an effective date of 31 December 1974.

2. The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to the applicant's request that he be awarded the Purple Heart for a cut he sustained on his head, in Vietnam, on 24 July 1967.





                  ___Samuel A. Crumpler___
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090174
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20040203
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 46	107.0000
2. 61	107.0015
3.
4.
5.
6.