RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            15 JULY 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2004101442


      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. Roger Able                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. James Anderholm               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Marla Troup                   |     |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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in combat in
Vietnam and did not receive the Purple Heart.  He states, in a self-
authored statement, that he was taken out of the field by a medical
helicopter on 14 July 1969 "with a wound to my left leg."  He states he was
treated at the "Camron Bay Hospital."

3.  The applicant provides copies of photographs, which he identifies as
"Cam Ron Bay 1969," and extracts from his service medical records.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 17 July 1970.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
4 September 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.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant entered
active duty on 18 July 1968.  He was trained as an infantryman.

4.  While undergoing training he qualified as a marksman with the rifle and
the machine gun and was awarded the associated badge and component bars.
Orders issued by an Advanced Individual Training Brigade at Fort Jackson,
South Carolina, confirmed the awards.  However, the information was omitted
from his separation document.

5.  In March 1969 the applicant was assigned duties as a rifleman with the
2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry, in Vietnam.

6.  Service medical records, provided by the applicant, do not show
treatment for any combat incurred wounds while in Vietnam.  Item 40
(wounds) on the





applicant's Department of the Army Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
is blank, and the applicant's name is not among a list of individuals
reported as combat casualties during Vietnam.

7.  The applicant departed Vietnam in November 1969.  Prior to departing
Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.  Orders issued by the 82nd
Airborne Division in Vietnam confirmed the award, but it was omitted from
his separation document.

8.  The applicant completed his military service at Fort Carson, Colorado,
and on 17 July 1970 was released from active duty with an honorable
characterization of service.  Neither his separation document, nor his
Department of the Army Form 20, reflects entitlement to the Purple Heart.
The applicant's separation physical examination, completed on 24 June 1970,
makes no mention of any wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.

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 applicant would have
participated in three designated campaigns (TET 69 Counteroffensive,
Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969, and Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970).  Three bronze
service stars on his Vietnam Service Medal should reflect his campaign
participation.  Currently, only two bronze service stars are reflected.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In the absence of medical evidence, which confirms that the applicant
was wounded as a result of hostile action while in Vietnam and that those
wounds were treated by a medical officer, there is no basis for an award of
the Purple Heart.

2.  Neither the medical documents, nor the photographs submitted by the
applicant, serve as confirmation that the applicant was wounded as a result
of hostile action.






3.  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 the aforementioned requirement.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 17 July 1970; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on
16 July 1973.  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 file in this case.

5.  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.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__RA ___  ___JA___  ___MT __  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:

      a.  qualification as a marksman with the rifle and machine gun and
award of the associated badge and component bars;


      b.  award of the Bronze Star Medal; and


      c.  entitlement to three bronze service stars on his Vietnam Service
Medal vice the two currently recorded.




            ______Roger Able________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004101442                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040715                                |
|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.                      |                                        |