RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        7 JUNE 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040006840


      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. William Powers                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Karen Fletcher                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Kenneth Wright                |     |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 military records be corrected to
reflect two awards of the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal.

2.  The applicant states the awards were received in the mail after he was
released from active duty.  He states that he was wounded twice while in
Vietnam and is currently receiving disability compensation from the
Department of Veterans Affairs.

3.  He states that he would also like the awards added to his records in
order to be buried at Arlington Cemetery, to raise his enrollment priority
at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and because he is proud of his
military service.

4.  The applicant provides no evidence in support of his request, beyond a
copy of his 1971 separation document.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 10 March 1971.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
28 August 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.  The applicant requested correction of his records to show award of the
Bronze Star Medal.  There are no orders or other evidence authorizing award
of this decoration.  In the absence of a proper award authority for this
decoration, the applicant may request award of the Bronze Star Medal under
the provisions of Section 1130 of Title 10, United States Code.  The
applicant has been notified by separate correspondence of the procedures
for applying for this decoration under Section 1130 and, as a result, it
will not be discussed further in the Record of Proceedings.


4.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant was
appointed as a warrant officer and enter active duty in that capacity on 17
November 1969, following completion of training.

5.  The applicant arrived in Vietnam in December 1969 and was initially
assigned to the 121st Aviation Company as a helicopter pilot.  He was
reassigned to Troop C, 16th Cavalry as a squadron commander in June 1970.
He remained in Vietnam until March 1971.

6.  The applicant was released from active duty on 10 March 1971 but did
continue his military service as a member of the United States Army Reserve
for several more years.

7.  There were no medical records available to the Board, or provided by
the applicant, which confirmed that he was wounded as a result of hostile
action.  His separation physical examination makes no mention of any combat
wounds and his name is not among a list of individuals reported as combat
casualties during the Vietnam War.

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 would have been
credited with participating in three designated campaigns (Vietnam
Counteroffensive Phase VII, Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970, and Sanctuary
Counteroffensive) during his tour of duty in Vietnam.  Three bronze service
stars on the Vietnam Service Medal, which is recorded on his separation
document, should reflect his campaign participation.  The pamphlet also
shows that both the 121st Aviation Company and Troop C, of the 16th Cavalry
were awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with
Palm while he was assigned to those organizations.  The unit awards were
also omitted from his separation document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no medical evidence, and the applicant has not provided any,
which confirms that he was wounded as a result of hostile action while in
Vietnam and as such, there is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.
The fact that he may be receiving disability compensation from the
Department of Veterans Affairs would not be sufficiently compelling to
conclude that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.

2.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy that requirement.

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 10 March 1971; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on
9 March 1974.  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

__WP ___  ___KF __  ___KW__  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 three bronze service stars on his Vietnam
Service Medal and two awards of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Unit Citation with Palm.



                                  _____ William Powers_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040006840                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050607                                |
|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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