RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           3 February 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090596


      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. Richard P. Nelson             |     |Analyst              |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

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

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests correction of his military records to show award
of the Navy Unit Commendation.

2.  The applicant states that the unit he was assigned to, while he was in
Vietnam, was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation while he was assigned to
the unit and that this is not reflected on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of
the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).

3.  The applicant provides a copy of an Internet WEB page
(http://www.angelfire.com/tn/mitchellrw/navy.html), portraying a citation
that commends the “officers and men of Project Delta” for actions in
Vietnam from 17 April to 17 June 1967 and from 15 July to 16 August 1967.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of error that occurred on 3 July
1969.  The application submitted in this case is dated 24 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 enlisted in the Army on 5
July 1966.  He underwent basic combat and advanced individual training in
Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 67A20 (Aircraft Maintenance Crewman).
 The applicant served at Fort Rucker, Alabama prior to deploying to
Vietnam, where he served from 5 April to 31 December 1967, with the 281st
Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter), 10th Aviation Battalion.  He
returned to Fort Rucker and was honorably separated from the Army on 3 July
1969, in pay grade E-5.

4.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and
Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant’s DD Form 214,
signed in his own hand, shows that he is entitled to the following
decorations: the Air Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; the Vietnam Service
Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Vietnam Campaign Medal; the
Aircraft Crewmember Badge; and, the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge with
Rifle Bar.  No other awards or decorations are listed.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that all unit awards, approved by other service departments to US Army
units, will be confirmed in Department of the Army General Orders.

6.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units that
served in the Vietnam War.  This document shows the unit to which the
applicant was assigned, was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam
Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation based on Department of the Army
General Orders Number 21, dated 1969, as amended by Department of the Army
General Orders Number 46, dated 1969.  There is no record that the
applicant’s unit was cited for award of the US Navy Unit Commendation
during the Vietnam War.

7.  The applicant’s name is listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.  The
entry shows that the applicant was wounded on 21 May 1967, as a result of
hostile action, and that the wounds were serious enough to cause the
applicant to be hospitalized and medically evacuated from the theater of
operations.  He later returned to duty with his unit.

8.  A Western Union telegram from the Adjutant General of the Army, dated
25 May 1967, informed the applicant’s parents that the applicant was
slightly wounded in Vietnam on 21 May 1967 as a result of hostile action.
It further states that he received fragmentation wounds to the left ankle
when the aircraft he was flying in was hit by hostile ground fire.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who, while serving under
competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services
after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed 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.

10.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards)
provided, in pertinent part, for award of the Purple Heart.  The regulation
stated that authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital
commanders.  Further, it directed that all personnel treated and released
within 24 hours will be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to
which the individual is assigned. Personnel requiring hospitalization in
excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam will be awarded the Purple
Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a
bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed
in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service
stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.  The appendix shows
that the applicant is entitled to wear one bronze service star for each of
the following campaigns: Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II and Vietnam
Counteroffensive, Phase III.

12.  Army Regulation 670-1, in effect at the time, governs the requirements
for the Overseas Service Bar.  In pertinent part, it provides that a bar is
authorized for wear for each period of active Federal service as a member
of the U.S. Army outside of the continental limits of the United States for
the specific time frames and areas of operation cited in Army Regulation
670-1 or appropriate Department of the Army message.  There are special
provisions regarding authorization for the Overseas Service Bar for service
in a hostile fire zone and for combining service to calculate award of the
bars.  For Vietnam service, one overseas service bar is authorized for each
period of 6 months active Federal service as a member of a U.S. Service in
Vietnam from 1 July 1958 to 28 March 1973.  Both the month of arrival and
the month of departure from Vietnam are counted as whole months for credit
toward the overseas service bar.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence that the applicant’s unit was awarded the Navy
Unit Commendation.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to correction
of his records to show this unit award.

2.  General Orders show that the applicant’s unit was awarded the Republic
of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, while he was assigned
to the unit.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to
show this unit award.

3.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant was wounded on 21 May 1967,
as a result of hostile action.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of the
Purple Heart and correction of his records to show this decoration.

4.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant received the Vietnam
Service Medal and participated in two campaigns.  As a result, is entitled
to award of two bronze service stars, and correction of his records to show
these appurtenances.

5.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant is eligible for one
overseas service bar.  Therefore he is entitled to correction of his
records to show this overseas service bar.

BOARD VOTE:

___sac___  ___rks__  ____clg__  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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 to show award of:

      a. the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation;


      b. the Purple Heart, for wounds sustained as a result of hostile
action on 21 May 1967;


      c. two bronze service stars, to be affixed to the Vietnam Service
Medal; and,


      d. one overseas service bar.


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
award of the Navy Unit Commendation.





            ________Samuel A. Crumpler____________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003090596                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040203                                |
|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.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |