RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        07 APRIL 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040003864


      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. James Anderholm               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric Andersen                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda Barker                  |     |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 the records of his brother, a deceased
former service member, be corrected to reflect award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart, and an Army Commendation Medal.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his brother served his country
for 3 years as an airborne infantry combat Soldier.  He notes many Soldiers
were killed and even more were wounded during the TET Offensive.  He states
that his brother was airlifted to an east coast hospital because of
shrapnel and that his mother and father and several “government biggies”
visited him at the hospital.

3.  The applicant states that the applicant’s 1 year in combat entitled him
to an award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

4.  The applicant provides extracts from his brother’s service personnel
records, including a copy of an order revoking award of the Army
Commendation Medal.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate that the former service member
entered active duty on 14 November 1966 and was trained as an infantryman
(11B).  He successfully completed airborne training and was briefly
assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, prior to being assigned as a
rifleman to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

2.  In December 1967 the service member was transferred to Vietnam as part
of a unit move.

3.  In May 1968 the service member was reassigned as an assistant gunner
with the 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, in Vietnam.

4.  On 16 September 1968 orders were issued by the 101st Airborne Division
awarding the former service member an Army Commendation Medal for
meritorious achievement during the period 1 December 1967 to 1 May 1968.
The order notes that the service member was assigned to the 506th Infantry.
 On 20 December 1968 those order were revoked.





5.  Orders contained in the service member’s file indicate that he was at
the 26th Casualty Staging Flight area on 28 November 1968 when orders were
issued transferring him to Valley Forge General Hospital “for further
medical treatment and/or disposition.”  His departure date from Vietnam was
on or about
29 November 1968.

6.  There were no medical records available to the Board, or provided by
the applicant, which confirm the basis for the service member’s assignment
to Valley Forge General Hospital.  His name is not among a list of
individuals reported as combat casualties during the Vietnam War, item 40
(wounds) on his Department of the Army Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification
Record) is blank, and his separation physical examination, conducted in May
1969, makes no mention of any combat incurred wounds.  His separation
physical examination does note that the service member was treated for
“removal of cysts on head and back” and for “stab wounds in chest.”

7.  The service member returned to duty at Fort Riley, Kansas, and on
3 September 1969 was released from active duty with an honorable
characterization of service.  His separation document, which he
authenticated as accurate, did not reflect entitlement to the Combat
Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, or an Army Commendation Medal.

8.  There are basically three requirements for award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge.  The soldier must be an infantryman (11 series
specialty), assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is
engaged in active ground combat, and must have actively participated in
such ground combat.

9.  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.

10.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the former service member
would have been credited with participating in five designated campaigns
(Vietnam Counteroffensive Phases III, IV, VI and VI, and TET
Counteroffensive) during his period of assignment in Vietnam.  A silver
service star on the Vietnam Service




Medal, which is recorded on his separation document, should reflect his
participation in five campaigns.  The Pamphlet also indicates that the 3rd
Battalion, 187th Infantry was awarded two Valorous Unit Awards and one
Meritorious Unit Commendation while he was a member of that organization
and the 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, was awarded the Republic of Vietnam
Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm and the Republic of Vietnam Civil
Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation during his tenure with that
organization.  The unit awards were omitted from his separation document.

11.  The former service member died in 1976.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence which confirms that the
applicant’s brother was wounded in action, in spite of the fact that he
departed Vietnam in a patient status.  In the absence of such medical
evidence, there is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Additionally, while the former service member may have been an
infantryman, assigned to an infantry unit in Vietnam, there is no evidence
which confirms that he engaged in and actively participated in ground
combat, one of the primary requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman
Badge.  In the absence of evidence that he did participate in ground
combat, the applicant’s request that his brother be awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge can also not be granted.

3.  Based on the evidence available to the Board, it appears that the
former service member’s award of the Army Commendation Medal may have been
revoked because during the period recognized by the award (1 December 1967
through 1 May 1968) he was not assigned to 506th Infantry, but was in fact
a member of the 187th Infantry.  Because that award was revoked, it cannot
be recorded on the former service member’s separation document.

4.  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 2 of the Board
Determination/Recommendation section below.





BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JA___  ___EA __  ___LB___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.  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 a silver service star on his Vietnam
Service Medal, two Valorous Unit Awards, a Meritorious Unit Commendation,
the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, and the
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.




                                  ___   James Anderholm_ ___
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040003864                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050407                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]