RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 SEPTEMBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002939


      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. James Hise                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas O’Shaughnessy          |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he sustained shrapnel wounds to his thigh and
elbow from an incoming enemy mortar round in April 1971.  He states his
crew drug [sic] him in behind the blast wall while the artillery shelling
continued for a few more minutes. He states he was treated by the unit's
field medic and then evacuated with another Soldier to a hospital where the
shrapnel was removed and the wounds bandaged.  He states he returned to his
crew at Landing Zone Sherry and 4 weeks latter received a certificate and
the Purple Heart along with the other Soldier that had been wounded during
the attack.

3.  He states he is now being treated for PTSD (posttraumatic stress
disorder).

4.  The applicant provides a statement from a fellow Soldier and evidence
of his treatment for PTSD.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant was inducted and
entered active duty on 5 February 1970.  In January 1971, following
completion of training, he was assigned to E Battery, 41st Artillery.  He
remained with that unit until returning to the United States in December
1971.  On 11 December 1971 he was released from active duty.

2.  The statement from the fellow Soldier indicated that he was at Landing
Zone Sherry on the night of 13 or 14 April 1971 and that during the night
the base was attacked by enemy forces.  He states the applicant and another
Soldier were wounded and treated by the field medic.  He states the
applicant was hit in the left hip and left elbow and ultimately picked up
by an evacuation helicopter.  He states that about a month later he was
present when the applicant and other Soldiers were pinned and given their
certificates for the Purple Heart.  The statement is dated in January 2005.

3.  There were no service medical records available to the Board or
provided by the applicant.  Item 40 (wounds) on his Department of the Army
Form 20 is blank and the applicant's name was not among a list of
individuals reported as combat casualties during the Vietnam War.


4.  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.

5.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) 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.

6.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the applicant’s unit was
credited with participating in three designated campaigns (Vietnam
Counteroffensive Phases VII, and Consolidation I and II) during the
applicant’s period of assignment.  Three bronze service stars on the
Vietnam Service Medal, which is recorded on his separation document, should
reflect his campaign participation.

7.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 also provides, in pertinent part,
for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with
Palm to all individuals who served in Vietnam between 20 July 1965 and 28
March 1973 in a unit which was subordinate to Headquarters, United States
Army Vietnam.  The applicant’s unit was such a unit.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately there is no medical evidence which confirms the applicant
was wounded as a result of hostile action while in Vietnam.  In the absence
of such medical evidence there is no basis for an award of the Purple
Heart.  The witness statement, rendered years after the fact, which is not
supported by any medical evidence from official sources, is not sufficient
to warrant the relief requested.

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 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JH____  __TO ___  ___PM __  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.  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 the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
with Palm.




                                  ______ James Hise________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002939                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050920                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]