RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           6 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003981


      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. Wanda L. Waller               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Curtis Greenway               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Richard Dunbar                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Laverne Berry                 |     |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, two awards of the Purple Heart
(correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, on 25 August 1968 he was wounded in
the nose by shrapnel during a firefight in Vietnam, that he was evacuated
for treatment, and he was returned to his platoon the next morning.  He
contends on 28 December 1968 he received multiple shrapnel wounds to his
buttocks during a mortar attack, that he was evacuated for treatment, and
returned to duty later in the day.

3.  The applicant provides the enclosures outlined in his attachment to his
application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged errors which occurred
on
16 May 1969.  The application submitted in this case is dated 28 December
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 was inducted on 15 June 1966.  He was awarded military
occupational specialty 11F (infantry operations and intelligence
specialist), successfully completed infantry school, and was honorably
discharged on
17 May 1967 to accept a commission.  On 18 May 1967, the applicant was
commissioned a second lieutenant and entered active duty.  He served as a
platoon leader assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry of the
25th Infantry Division in Vietnam from 22 May 1968 through 11 October 1968.
 He was assigned to the U.S. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam from
15 October 1968 through 10 May 1969.  On 16 May 1969, the applicant was
released from active duty.

4.  The applicant's DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the
period ending 16 May 1969 shows the National Defense Service Medal, the
Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, two awards of the
Overseas Service Bar, and the Combat Infantryman Badge as authorized
awards.

5.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the applicant's service
personnel records.  However, the Vietnam Casualty Roster shows the
applicant was wounded in action once, on 25 August 1968.

6.  The applicant's Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History) shows he
reported that he was wounded by shrapnel on 28 December 1968 in the left
hip and right buttocks.

7.  There is no evidence of record which shows he was wounded a second time
as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.

8.  Records show the applicant participated in four campaigns during his
assignment in Vietnam.

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units
serving in Vietnam.  This document shows the applicant's unit (3rd
Battalion, 22nd Infantry) is entitled to award of the Valorous Unit Award
for actions during the period
27 August 1968 to 31 October 1968 by Department of the Army General Orders
Number 42, dated 1969.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 shows the applicant's unit (3rd
Battalion, 22nd Infantry) is entitled to one award of the Republic of
Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation (1 August 1967 to August
1968) based on Department of the Army General Orders Number 48, dated 1971,
and one award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit
Citation
(1 September 1968 to 30 September 1970) based on Department of the Army
General Orders Number 5, dated 1973.

11.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 shows that the applicant’s unit
(3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry) is also entitled to award of the Republic of
Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation based on
Department of the Army General Orders Number 51, dated 1971.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent
part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound 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, and the
medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The
bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding
awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a
bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed
in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service
stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.

14.  Paragraph 6 (Miscellaneous Information) of Department of the Army
Pamphlet 672-3 states that only one award of the Republic of Vietnam
Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation may be worn; however, records
should show entitlement to all authorized awards of this foreign unit
award.  This guidance also provides that when a single unit receives
duplicate awards of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit
Citation during the same period, then only one award of the Republic of
Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation will be recorded in
official personnel records.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The entry on the Vietnam Casualty Roster which shows the applicant was
wounded in action on 25 August 1968 is accepted as sufficient as a basis
for one award of the Purple Heart.  In the absence of orders or other
evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for
wounds as a result of hostile action on 28 December 1968 in Vietnam, the
entry on his Standard Form 89 is not sufficient as a basis for a second
award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on
which to base a second award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The applicant participated in four campaigns during his assignment in
Vietnam which entitles him to award of the Vietnam Service Medal with four
bronze service stars.

3.  The applicant's unit (3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry) received the
Valorous Unit Award and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal
First Class Unit Citation while he was assigned to it.

4.  The applicant’s unit (3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry) was awarded two
awards of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation
and so he is entitled to wear one of those awards.  However, his DD Form
214 should be corrected to show two awards of the Republic of Vietnam
Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged errors
now under consideration on 16 May 1969; therefore, the time for the
applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 15 May
1972.  The applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations;
however, based on the available evidence it would be in the interest of
justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

CG_____  RD_____  LB______  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial 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 Purple Heart for wounds received in action on
25 August 1968 in Vietnam; and


      b.  amending his DD Form 214 for the period ending 16 May 1969 to add
the Purple Heart and to show that he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal
with four bronze service stars, the Valorous Unit Award, two awards of the
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, and the
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.


2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends








denial of so much of the application that pertains to a second award of the
Purple Heart.




            __Curtis Greenway_____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003981                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051006                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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