RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        29 MARCH 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040003173


      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             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Susan Powers                  |     |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 his records be corrected to reflect award
of two Purple Hearts.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded twice with fragments, once on
24 March 1968 and again on 25 May 1968.  He states that he would like his
children to know what he did for his country.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his Department of the Army Form 20
(Enlisted Qualification Record) which contains two entries in item 40
(wounds).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 29 August 1969.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
16 June 2004.

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 limitations 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.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant was inducted
and entered active duty on 30 August 1967.  While undergoing training he
qualified as an expert with the M-14 rifle and as a marksman with the M-16
automatic rifle. Orders contained in his file confirm that he was awarded
the associated badges and component bars, but the information was omitted
from his separation document.

4.  In February 1968, following completion of training, the applicant was
assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade in
Vietnam where he performed duties in his infantry specialty (11B).  Orders
contained in his file confirm that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman
Badge, an Army Commendation Medal, and a Valorous Unit Award while in
Vietnam and all of those awards are reflected on his separation document
and in item 41 (awards and decorations) on his Department of the Army Form
20.

5.  Item 40 (wounds) on his Department of the Army Form 20 does contain two
typed entries indicating that he sustained fragment wounds to his right
thigh and buttocks on 24 March 1968 and that he sustained fragment wounds
to both legs on 25 May 1968.  However, there were no medical records
available to the Board, or provided by the applicant confirming the source
of the information contained in item 40.  Neither his separation document,
nor item 41 on his Department of the Army Form 20, indicates he was ever
awarded any Purple Hearts.

6.  Unfortunately, that portion of the roster which identifies combat
casualties during the Vietnam War, which might have confirmed that he was
treated for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action, was not
readable.

7.  In February 1969 the applicant returned to the United States and
completed his service contract at Fort Carson, Colorado.  He was released
from active duty on 29 August 1969.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded for wounds 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 by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

9.  United States Army Vietnam 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 would be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to
which the individual was assigned.  Personnel requiring hospitalization in
excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam would be awarded the Purple
Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.

10.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the applicant’s unit was
awarded a Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm and a
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation
during his tenure with the organization.  The unit awards were announced in
Department of the Army General Orders after the applicant was released from
active duty and as such, were omitted from his separation document.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The fact that all of the other awards which the applicant received
while in Vietnam are confirmed in orders contained in his file, recorded in
item 41 on his Department of the Army Form 20, and on his separation
document, suggests that had he been entitled to any awards of the Purple
Heart, those award documents would also have been present in his file.

2.  Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence available to the Board
which confirms the source of the two entries in item 40 on the applicant’s
Department of the Army Form 20.  In the absence of such medical evidence,
it would be inappropriate, considering the fact that all of his other
awards were confirmed in orders contained in his file, to award the
applicant the Purple Heart based solely on those typed entries.

3.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 29 August 1969; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on
28 August 1972.  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:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__MM___  ___PM __  ___SP __  DENY APPLICATION




BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board
determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis
for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.

3.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned to show entitlement to the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Unit Citation with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal
First Class Unit Citation, and that he qualified as an expert with the M-14
rifle and as a marksman with the     M-16 automatic rifle and that he was
awarded the associated badges and component bars.




                                  ______Melvin Meyer_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040003173                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050329                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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