RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           21 October 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004103474


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James E. Anderholm            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Deborah S. Jacobs             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Ronald J. Weaver              |     |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 reconsideration of his request for award of the
Purple Heart.  As new issues, he also requests that the Bronze Star Medal
be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of
Transfer or Discharge) and that the unit of assignment listed on his DD
Form 214 be corrected.

2.  The applicant states that he was told he was to be recommended for
award of the Purple Heart and that all the paperwork would be taken care
of.  He assumed it would be taken care of.  In his original application, he
stated that the correct name of his unit was the 25h Division, 1st Direct
Support Command, attached to the 228th Support Battalion in Tay Ninh.

3.  The applicant provides a 1-page medical record from the Department of
Veterans Affairs (DVA) dated 15 January 2004; a 1-page medical record from
the DVA dated 21 January 2000; a 1-page medical record from the DVA dated
24 April 2003; an extract from his service medical records; a 3-page
attachment to a DVA claim; a letter dated 6 March 1969; a letter addressed
to the National Archives and Records Administration dated 26 October 1999;
and his DD Form 214.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR1999030123 on 22 March 2000.

2.  The applicant requested, in part, that the Bronze Service Star be added
to his DD Form 214.  There are no orders or other evidence authorizing
award of this decoration to the applicant.  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, U. S.
Code.  He 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 this Record of Proceedings.

3.  The medical documents are new evidence which will be considered by the
Board.  In addition, correction of the unit of assignment on his DD Form
214 is a new issue.

4.  The applicant's Regular Army records are not available.  This case is
being considered using reconstructed records which primarily consist of the
documents provided by the applicant and his subsequent U. S. Army Reserve
service records.

5.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 September 1966.  He
arrived in Vietnam around 3 September 1968.

6.  The applicant provides a service medical record which shows that, on
      24 December 1968, he was treated for a "complaint of shrapnel
embedded in left leg.  Diagnosis:  flesh wound from rocket mortar embedded
in left leg below knee…"

7.  The applicant provides a letter dated 6 March 1969, with the letterhead
of the 228th Supply and Service Company, subject:  Temporally (sic) Duty
Assignment Medical Pprofile (sic).  The letter is addressed to the
applicant at Tay Ninh Logistical Support Activity.  He was informed he
would provide graves registration duty at Tay Ninh and other locations as
directed by "this headquarters (i.e., the 228th Supply and Service Company)
until medical evaluation pertaining to injuries to his left shoulder, knee,
and back was completed.

8.  The service medical record provided by the applicant also shows that,
on      28 April 1969, he was treated for a "Complaint of back pain from
falling out of truck during hostile mortar and small arms fire…"

9.  The applicant departed Vietnam around 7 August 1969.  He was honorably
released from active duty on 14 August 1969.  He subsequently had service
in various Reserve components.

10.  Item 12 (Last Duty Assignment and Major Command) of the applicant's DD
Form 214 shows he was assigned to the 228th Supply and Service Company,
U. S. Army Pacific.

11.  A copy of a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is on file.
Item          40 (Wounds) does not indicate the applicant was wounded in
action.  He is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

12.  A review of the unit records of the 228th Supply and Service Company
at the National Archives in College Park, MD revealed that the unit was
part of the 567th Supply and Services Battalion at Tay Ninh which in turn
was part of the   U. S. Army Support Command at Qui Nhon.  The records of
these units, and also the records of the 25th Infantry Division, were
reviewed but failed to reveal the applicant's entitlement to the Purple
Heart.

13.  The 21 January 2000 DVA medical record provided by the applicant
indicates he was loading ammunition on a truck while in Vietnam.  He was
fastening the strap but had not completed the task when the truck pulled
out.  He fell and injured his back.

14.  The attachment to the DVA claim provided by the applicant indicated
that he was loading ammunition on a truck.  They started to receive
incoming rocket fire. He was injured when he fell from the moving truck.
In addition, he also stated (in regard to an injury on a different date)
that they started receiving indirect rocket fire.  He jumped into an
irrigation ditch and his knee hit a piece of steel plating.

15.  The 24 April 2003 DVA medical record provided by the applicant
indicated he was loading an ammunition truck.  He came under heavy fire,
the truck took off, and he fell from the back of the truck.  He held on to
a strap but was dragged about 10 yards.

16.  The 15 January 2004 DVA medical record provided by the applicant
indicated he was injured when a mortar exploded on 24 December 1968 and
injured his left leg and again when he fell off a truck during hostile
mortar fire.

17.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy and criteria concerning
individual military decorations.  In pertinent part, it states that the
Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been
wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The
wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of
medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been
made a matter of official record.  When contemplating an award of the
Purple Heart, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is
the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the
proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat
operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for
award.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The service medical records provided by the applicant and the various
statements contained in the DVA medical records he provided have been
carefully considered.  However, taken as a whole they are insufficient to
warrant award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant's service medical records show he was treated for a flesh
wound from a rocket mortar [piece of shrapnel] embedded in his left leg
below his knee; however, that document does not indicate the injury was the
result of hostile action.  In the DVA claim document he provided, he stated
that they started receiving indirect rocket fire during which he jumped
into an irrigation ditch and his knee hit a piece of steel plating.  This
is an indication that the enemy was not the direct cause of his injury.

3.  The applicant's service medical records also show that he was treated
for back pain after falling out of a truck during hostile mortar and small
arms fire.  Once again, however, this is an indication that the enemy was
not the direct cause of his injury.

4.  The 6 March 1969 letter provided by the applicant indicates he was
assigned to the 228th Supply and Service Company, the same unit that is
listed in item   12 of his DD Form 214.  In the absence of evidence to the
contrary, it is presumed he was still assigned to the 228th Supply and
Service Company when he departed Vietnam and separated.  There is no
evidence to show that the unit as listed on his DD Form 214 is incorrect.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jea___  __dsj___  __rjw_____ DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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 to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2004103474 dated 22 March 2000.




            __James E. Anderholm__
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004103474                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041021                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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