RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           10 March 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040002367


      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             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |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, in effect, that the Purple Heart (PH), Army
Commendation Medal (ARCOM) with Valor (“V”) Device and Air Medal (AM) be
added to his record and separation document (DD Form 214).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he earned the PH, ARCOM with “V”
Device and AM, but these awards were not included in the list of awards
contained on his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his
application:  PH Orders, PH Certificate, and ARCOM with “V” Device Orders.


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 9 December 1970.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
2 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 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.  The applicant’s record shows he was inducted into the Army and entered
active duty on 2 June 1969.  He was trained in, awarded and served in
military occupational specialty (MOS) 13E (Field Artillery Operations and
Intelligence Assistant) and the highest rank he attained while serving on
active duty was specialist four (SP4).

4.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows he
served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 7 November 1969 through 3
January 1971.  During his RVN tour, he was assigned to Battery B, 2nd
Battalion,
19th Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division.

5.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of the applicant’s DA Form 20 also
shows that he received “Excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings at each
of his active duty assignments.  Item 40 (Wounds) contains an entry
indicating he received a fragmentation wound to the neck and injuries to
both ears on 29 March 1970.

6.  The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains no
derogatory information and there is no documented record of a
disqualification
from any of the applicant's active duty commanders that would have
precluded
him from receiving the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM).

7.  The MPRJ also includes copies of Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division
General Orders (GO) Number 4750, dated 30 March 1970.  These orders awarded
him the PH, for being wounded in action in the RVN on 29 March 1970.  It
also includes copy of Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division GO Number 6761,
dated 29 April 1970.  These orders awarded him the ARCOM with “V” Device,
for heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force
in the RVN on
29 March 1970.

8.  The applicant’s MPRJ also includes a copy of Headquarters, 1st Cavalry
Division GO Number 17510, dated 28 September 1970.  These orders awarded
him the AM, for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial
flight in the RVN during the period November 1969 through September 1970.
It also contains a copy of Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division GO Number
18741, dated 29 October 1970, which awarded him the ARCOM for meritorious
service during the period November 1969 through November 1970.

9.  On 9 December 1970, the applicant was honorably released from active
duty after completing a total of 1 year, 6 months and 8 days of active
military service.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations,
Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the DD Form 214 he
was issued shows he earned the following awards:  National Defense Service
Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, ARCOM and Expert Qualification Badge with
Rifle and Grenade Bars.

10.  A review of the Department of the Army (DA) Vietnam Casualty Roster
reveals an entry pertaining to the applicant that verifies he was wounded
in action in the RVN on 29 March 1970.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the
regulatory guidance pertaining to award of the PH.  It states, in pertinent
part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that the wound for
which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the
wound must have required medical treatment and the medical treatment must
have been made a matter of official record.

12.  Paragraph 2-13 of the awards regulation contains guidance on award of
the Vietnam Service Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that a bronze
service star is authorized with this award for each RVN campaign a member
is credited with participating in while serving in the RVN.  Table 2-1
contains a list of authorized campaigns and it shows that during his
assignment tenure, the applicant was credited with participating in the
Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970,
Sanctuary Counteroffensive and Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VII
campaigns.

13.  Paragraph 3-16 of the awards regulation contains guidance on award of
the ARCOM.  The regulation stipulates that an Oak Leaf Cluster will be used
to denote the second or subsequent award of the ARCOM.

14.  Chapter 4 of the awards regulation prescribes the policy for award of
the
AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that the AGCM is awarded to
individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and
fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service.  This
period is 3 years, except in those cases when the period for the first
award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military service, in
which case a period of more than one year is a qualifying period.  Although
there is no automatic entitlement to the AGCM, disqualification must be
justified.

15.  Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit
Register) establishes the eligibility of individual members for campaign
participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges
awarded during the Vietnam Conflict.  It confirms that during his tenure of
assignment in the RVN, the applicant’s unit (Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 19th
Artillery) earned the Valorous Unit Award, RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm
Unit Citation and RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that his separation document did not include
all his earned awards was carefully considered and found to have merit.
The evidence of record confirms the applicant was awarded the PH in
Headquarters,
1st Cavalry Division GO Number 4750, dated 30 March 1970.  The validity of
this award is further evidenced by an entry in Item 40 of his DA Form 20
and an entry on the DA Vietnam Casualty Roster.  Therefore, it would be
appropriate to add the PH to his record and separation document at this
time.

2.  The evidence of record also confirms the applicant was awarded the
ARCOM with “V” Device, for heroism in Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division GO
Number 6761, dated 29 April 1970.  It also shows he was awarded the ARCOM,
for meritorious service during the period November 1969 through November
1970 in Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division GO Number 18741, dated 29
October 1970.  Given the applicant received two awards of the ARCOM, it
would be appropriate to correct his record and separation document to show
he earned the ARCOM 1st Oak Leaf Cluster with “V” Device.

3.  The record further confirms the applicant was awarded the AM, for
meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight in the RVN
during the period November 1969 through September 1970 in Headquarters, 1st
Cavalry Division GO Number 17510, dated 28 September 1970.  Thus, it would
also be appropriate to add this award to his record.

4.  The applicant's record also confirms he received "Excellent" conduct
and
efficiency ratings at all of his active duty assignments.  Further, the
record is void
of any derogatory information or a specific unit commander disqualification
that would have precluded him from receiving the AGCM.  As a result, he
should be awarded the first award of the AGCM, for his qualifying period of
honorable active duty service from 2 June 1969 through 9 December 1970.

5.  The record also confirms that based on his service and campaign
participation in the RVN, he is entitled to the Valorous Unit Award, RVN
Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal
First Class Unit Citation and
3 bronze service stars with his Vietnam Service Medal.  Thus, it would also
be appropriate to add these awards to his record at this time.




BOARD VOTE:

___CD __  ___JNS     ___LE___  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by:

      a.  awarding him the first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, for
his qualifying period of honorable active duty service from 2 June 1969
through 9 December 1970;


      b.  showing he was awarded the Purple Heart, Air Medal and
Army Commendation Medal 1st Oak Leaf Cluster with “V” Device;


      c.  showing that based on his RVN service and campaign participation,
he is entitled to the Valorous Unit Award, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry
Cross with Palm Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor
Medal First Class Unit Citation and 3 bronze service stars with his Vietnam
Service Medal; and


      d.  providing him a corrected separation document that includes these
awards.




            ____John N. Slone_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040002367                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/03/10                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1970/12/09                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR635-200                               |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |O/S Rtn                                 |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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