RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          13 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003984


      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. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Shirley L. Powell             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Allen L. Raub                 |     |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 that his award of the Purple Heart be added to
his DD Form 214.

2.  The applicant states that he received a Purple Heart in the 3rd Field
Hospital in Saigon, yet it was never added to his DD Form 214.  He goes on
to state that he received shrapnel wounds to his left hand and has been
receiving a 10% disability compensation since his discharge for that wound.
 He also states that he spent 6 months in St. Albans Hospital for that
wound.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Progress Note and a copy of his DD Form 214.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 11 February 1970.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 7 March 2005.

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.  He was inducted at Fort Hamilton, New York, on 12 February 1968 and was
transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia, to undergo his basic combat training
(BCT). He completed his BCT and underwent his advanced individual training
(AIT) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

4.  Upon completion of his AIT, he was transferred to Vietnam on 14 July
1968 for assignment to Company B, 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment,
199th Infantry Brigade, for duty as a rifleman.  He was advanced to the pay
grade of   E-3 on 23 July 1968.

5.  On 12 December 1968, the applicant was reassigned from the United
States Army Vietnam Patient Casual Company to the Medical Holding
Detachment of the 7th Field Hospital in Japan.

6.  On 20 December 1968, he was reassigned to the United States Naval
Hospital, St Albans, New York.  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on
5 March 1969.

7.  On 6 July 1969, he was reassigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, where he
remained until he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on
   11 February 1970, due to the expiration of his term of service (ETS).
He had served 2 years of total active service and the DD Form 214 issued to
him at the time of his REFRAD shows that he was awarded the National
Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM), the Republic of
Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

8.  A review of the available records fails to show that he was awarded the
Purple Heart.  However, there are documents contained in his records that
indicate he sustained shrapnel wounds to the left hand in October 1968 and
was treated for that injury in Vietnam, Japan and in New York.

9.  His records also show that he received excellent conduct and efficiency
ratings throughout his service and there is no derogatory information
contained in his records that would serve to disqualify him for award of
the Good Conduct Medal (GCMDL).

10.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been
made a matter of official record.

11.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, established the
criteria for award of the GCMDL.  It states, in pertinent part, that the
GCMDL was established by Executive Order 8809, 28 June 1941 and was amended
by Executive Order 9323, 1943 and by Executive Order 10444, 10 April 1953
and is awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active
Federal military service.  The regulation also states, in pertinent part,
that for first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June
1950, a period of service of less than 3 years but more than 1 year
qualifies for award of the GCMDL.  There is no automatic entitlement to
award of the GCMDL.

12.  Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit
Register-Vietnam Era) was published to assist commanders and personnel
officers in determining or establishing the eligibility of individual
members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit
citation badges awarded during the Vietnam Conflict.  Table 1 (Army Units
in Numerical Order) of the pamphlet indicates that the applicant’s unit was
subsequently awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
(RVNGC w/Palm) Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions
Honor Medal – First Class (RVNCAHM-FC) Unit Citation during the period he
was assigned to the unit. Additionally, he participated in three campaigns
while assigned to Vietnam and thus is entitled to be awarded three bronze
service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM.

13.  The 3rd Field Hospital located in Saigon, South Vietnam was a
subordinate unit of the 44th Medical Brigade.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although there are no orders present in the applicant’s records showing
that he was awarded the Purple Heart, it is reasonable to presume, given
all of the medical documentation surrounding the shrapnel wounds to his
left hand, that he was in fact awarded the Purple Heart while in the 3rd
Field Hospital and that the orders never caught up with his personnel
records.  Accordingly, it would be appropriate to add that award to his DD
Form 214 at this time.

2.  After carefully examining the applicant’s record of service, the Board
has determined that the applicant should have received the GCMDL for his
service from 12 February 1968 through 11 February 1970.  This conclusion is
based on the fact that the record is void of any derogatory information,
which would preclude the applicant from being awarded the GCMDL, and the
lack of any specific action by the applicant’s unit commander to disqualify
him from receiving the award.

3.  Additionally, the applicant’s unit was subsequently awarded the RVNGC
w/Palm Unit Citation and the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation.  Accordingly, he is
entitled to be awarded those awards at this time as well as three bronze
service stars for wear on his VSM.

BOARD VOTE:

__slp___  __mhm___  __alr___  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 showing that he was awarded the Purple
Heart and by awarding him the GCMDL for the period of 12 February 1968 to
11 February 1970, the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation, the RVNCAHM-FC Unit
Citation, and three bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded
VSM.

                 Shirley L. Powell
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003984                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051213                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT PLUS)                            |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES                  |61/PH                                   |
|1.107.0015              |                                        |
|2.107.0056              |102/GCMDL                               |
|3.107.0094              |140/RVNGC                               |
|4.107.0095              |141/RVNCAHM                             |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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