RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            15 JULY 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2004101964


      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 that on 13 May 1967 he was reading a comic book
while sitting on the side of his foxhole in Vietnam when enemy mortars
struck nearby.  He states that he sustained shrapnel wounds to his right
eye and was evacuated to a military hospital.  He states that as a result
of the injury to his right eye he "lost vision in that eye."  After his
release from the hospital he continued to wear a patch over his right eye
during his period of recuperation.

3.  The applicant maintains that he would have received the Purple Heart
had he not returned to the United States.  He states that because he was
embarrassed about reading a comic book at the time of the injury he felt he
was not deserving of the award, but now, as a combat veteran, he believes
he is entitled to the award.

4.  The applicant provides no evidence, beyond his self-authored statement.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 22 March 1968.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
15 December 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 20 July 1965.  He was trained as an infantryman.

4.  In May 1966 he was attached to the 3rd Ordnance Battalion in Vietnam as
a security guard.  In March 1967 he assumed duties as a rifleman with the
4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry.  There were no service medical records,
beyond a separation physical examination, available to the Board or
provided by the applicant.  Item 40 (wounds) on his Department of the Army
Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and his name is not among
a list of individuals reported as combat casualties during the Vietnam War.

5.  The applicant returned to the United States in June 1967 and was
assigned to Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.

6.  On 22 March 1968 the applicant was discharged, under honorable
conditions. Neither his separation document nor his Department of the Army
Form 20 reflects entitlement to the Purple Heart.  His separation physical
examination, conducted on 22 February 1968, makes no mention of any wounds
sustained as a result of hostile action or any eye problems.  His vision,
in both eyes was recorded as 20/20 and there was no physical profile
associated with the applicant's eyes.

7.  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.

8.  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 (Vietnam Counteroffensive and
Vietnam Counteroffensive Phases II and III).  Three bronze service stars on
the Vietnam Service Medal, which is reflected on his separation document,
should reflect his campaign participation.  The 4th Battalion, 503rd
Infantry was also awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit
Citation with Palm, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Republic of
Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation while the
applicant was a member of the organization.  The unit awards were also
omitted from his separation document.

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 a
medical officer treated those wounds, there is no basis for an award of the
Purple Heart.

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 the aforementioned requirement.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 11 April 1972; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on
10 April 1975.  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.
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 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 entitlement to three bronze service stars on his Vietnam
Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with
Palm, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Republic of Vietnam Civil
Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.




            ______Roger Able_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004101964                            |
|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.                      |                                        |