RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        12 JANUARY 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050005868


      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:

|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Rodney Barber                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Rea Nuppenau                  |     |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 burns to both arms on 25 September
1967 while in Vietnam.  He states he was evacuated to a military hospital
but was never issued a Purple Heart.  He states his medical records would
support his claim.

3.  The applicant provides no evidence in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant was inducted and
entered active duty on 30 January 1967.  He was trained as an infantryman
and in August 1967 he was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry in
Vietnam.

2.  He departed Vietnam in July 1968 after having been awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge and the Army Commendation Medal.

3.  In November 1968 the applicant underwent a separation physical
examination.  The examination does contain a notation that the applicant
was treated for burns while in Vietnam but does not indicate the burns were
the result of hostile action.

4.  On 2 December 1968 the applicant was released from active duty under an
early release program which permitted him to return to college.  There is
no indication he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.

5.  There were no service medical records available to the Board, or
provided by the applicant, beyond his separation physical examination.  His
name was not among a list of individuals reported as combat casualties
during the Vietnam War and item 40 (wounds) on his Department of the Army
Form 20 (Enlisted Personnel Record) is blank.

6.  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.

7.  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.

8.  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 four designated campaigns (Vietnam
Counteroffensive Phases III, V and VI, and TET Counteroffensive) during the
applicant’s period of assignment.  Four bronze service stars on the Vietnam
Service Medal, vice the one currently recorded on his separation document,
should reflect his campaign participation.  The unit was also awarded a
Valorous Unit Award, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
with Palm and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class
Unit Citation during his tenure with the organization.  The unit awards
were also omitted from his separation document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant's separation physical examination does note he
was treated for burns while in Vietnam, there is no evidence confirming the
burns were sustained as a result of hostile action.  In the absence of more
compelling medical evidence that he was wounded as a result of hostile
action, there is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  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

__LS____  __RB ___  __RN ___  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 four bronze service stars on his Vietnam
Service Medal vice the one currently shown, a Valorous Unit Award, the
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, and the
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.





                                  _____ Linda Simmons_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050005868                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060112                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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