RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          8 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004633


      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:

|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. James B. Gunlicks             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Scott W. Faught               |     |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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he received shrapnel wounds in
Vietnam on 28 March 1968 while on a recon mission and was supposedly put in
for award of the Purple Heart; however, he never received it.

3.  The applicant provides copies of documents from his medical records
showing that he was treated for shrapnel wounds to the left calf.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 16 January 1970.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 23 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 enlisted in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on 27 March 1967 for a period
of 3 years and training in the infantry career management field.  He
completed his basic combat training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and his advanced
individual training (AIT) at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

4.  Upon completion of his AIT he was transferred to Vietnam on 24 August
1967 and was initially assigned to Company B, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry
Regiment, for duty as a rifleman.  He was reassigned to D Troop, 3rd
Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment and was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on
30 November 1967.

5.  He was reassigned to Company E, 50th Infantry Regiment, Long Range
Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) on 1 February 1968 and on 28 March 1968, he
was treated for fragmentation wounds to the left calf that were the result
of enemy action.  He was promoted to the pay grade of E-5 on 1 June 1968.

6.  He departed Vietnam on 23 August 1968 and was transferred to Fort Hood,
Texas, where he remained until 16 January 1970, when he was honorably
released from active duty to attend school.  He had served 2 years, 9
months and 20 days of total active service and was awarded the Vietnam
Service Medal with four bronze service stars, the National Defense Service
Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the
Valorous Unit Citation, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

7.  A review of his records shows that he received excellent conduct and
efficiency ratings throughout his service and his records are void of any
derogatory information that would serve to disqualify him for award of the
Good Conduct Medal.

8.  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.

9.  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.

10.  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 units
were 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 units.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence submitted by the applicant clearly shows that he was
wounded as a result of enemy action on 28 March 1968 and that treatment was
made a matter of record.  Accordingly, he is entitled to be awarded the
Purple Heart for those wounds.

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 27 March 1967 through 16 January 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 units were 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.

BOARD VOTE:

__rtd___  __jbg___  __swf___  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 awarding him the Purple Heart for
wounds received in action against the enemy in Vietnam on 28 March 1968,
the GCMDL for the period of 27 March 1967 to 16 January 1970, the RVNGC
w/Palm Unit Citation and the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation.




                 Richard T. Dunbar
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004633                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051208                                |
|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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