RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        12 JANUARY 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006394


      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 that his records be corrected to reflect award
of the Purple Heart and two awards of the Army Commendation Medal.

2.  The applicant states he was never presented the Purple Heart for wounds
received in action.  He also states his separation document should reflect
two awards of the Army Commendation Medal.

3.  In a separate statement, included with his application, the applicant
notes that he was wounded several times while in Vietnam, but cannot
remember the dates, places, or names because it is a very heavy strain on
him mentally.  He did state that he is receiving a 30 percent disability
rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs for his right knee
replacement which was the results of wounds received in Vietnam.  He
indicated that his abdomen was rebuilt because of a knife wound he received
in Vietnam in November 1971 and in December 1971 he was thrown into a
bunker and receive whiplash from a bomb explosion.  He notes this is also
when he received shrapnel wounds to his right shoulder and right knee.

4.  The applicant states in that same document, which is addressed to the
Department of Veterans Affairs, that he was offered the Purple Heart while
hospitalized and incapacitated with knee surgery in August 1972 while at
Fort Carson.  He states he was angry because of all the questions he was
being asked about his wounds.

5.  The applicant states he needs the Purple Heart so he can receive
benefits associated with the award.

6.  The applicant provides several medical documents, the undated statement
to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and copies of his awards of the Army
Commendation Medal.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant initially
enlisted and entered active duty on 12 June 1968.  He was initially trained
as a track vehicle mechanic and performed those duties in Germany between
December 1968 and February 1970.  In February 1969, while in Germany, the
applicant was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.

2.  Following the applicant's return to the United States from Germany he
underwent training as a teletype repairman and was subsequently assigned to
Fort Hood, Texas.

3.  In April 1971 the applicant was reassigned to Vietnam with Headquarters
and Headquarters Company, Signal Support Agency, in Long Binh.  A September
1971 performance evaluation report makes no mention of any wounds incurred
by the applicant as a result of hostile action.  The applicant's name is
not among a list of individuals reported as combat casualties while in
Vietnam and there are no extant service medical records from that period.

4.  The applicant returned to the United States in March 1972 and was
assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado.  In September 1972 he was awarded an
Army Commendation Medal for his meritorious achievement on 6 September
1972.

5.  On 16 November 1972 the applicant was discharged for the purpose of
immediate reenlistment.  His separation document, issued at that time does
not reflect entitlement to a Purple Heart and his September 1972 Army
Commendation Medal was omitted.  The separation document does, however,
reflect other awards associated with his service in Vietnam.

6.  In March 1974 the applicant was reassigned to a signal company in
Germany. In March 1974 the applicant also authenticated the accuracy of the
information contained on his Department of the Army Form 20 (Enlisted
Qualification Record).  Item 40 (wounds) on that document is blank and item
41 (awards), while it reflects the applicant's other awards, does not
reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

7.  In May 1977 the applicant was awarded his second Army Commendation
Medal.  Orders issued by the 5th Signal Command in Germany confirmed the
award.

8.  In May 1978 the applicant underwent a physical examination in
preparation for separation.  The examination made no mention of any combat
incurred wounds, although it does note a scar on the applicant's right
knee.  It also notes the applicant had surgery on that knee after he
injured it.  The injury is not attributed to any hostile action.

9.  On 16 November 1978 the applicant was honorably discharged in pay grade
E-5.  He had approximately 15 years of active Federal service at the time.

10.  His 1978 separation document does not reflect entitlement to the
Purple Heart, but does reflect one Army Commendation Medal, and other
decorations associated with his service in Vietnam.

11.  The medical records provided by the applicant are primarily from
Department of Veterans Affairs or civilian physician completed after the
applicant was discharged from active duty in 1978.  The earliest of those
documents, which was the applicant's original 1980 Department of Veterans
Affairs rating document notes the applicant had multiple complaints of
right knee pain during service dating back from a 1967 injury while in
Vietnam.  The "67" has been lined through and replaced with a "71."  The
document however, does not attribute the applicant's knee injury to hostile
action.  A notation attributing his knee condition to shrapnel does not
appear in the Department of Veterans Affairs records until 1985.

12.  The service medical records, provided by the applicant, note various
ailments, none of which were attributed to hostile action.  Those limited
documents begin in September 1974 and conclude with the applicant's report
of medical history, completed as part of his separation physical
examination in May 1978.

13.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence does confirm the applicant was awarded two awards of the
Army Commendation Medal.  His records should be corrected accordingly.

2.  There is however, no compelling medical evidence which confirms the
applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action.  The applicant's name
is not among a list of individuals reported as combat casualties, there is
no entry concerning wounds on his Enlisted Qualification Record, and there
is no mention of any combat incurred wounds on his existing service medical
records.  Such evidence support a conclusion that in the absence of more
compelling medical evidence there is no basis to award the applicant the
Purple Heart.



BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__LS  ___  ___RB __  ___RN__  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.  As a result, the Board
recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual
concerned be corrected by showing entitlement to two awards of the Army
Commendation Medal.

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
award of the Purple Heart.





                                  _____ Linda Simmons_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006394                           |
|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          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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