RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        1 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050018133


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Conrad V. Meyer               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |Member               |

      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 reconsideration of his earlier request to show
he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Expert Marksmanship Qualification
Badge, and four awards of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).  He also requests
that his records be corrected to show he was given a battlefield
commission.  He also requests that his social security number (SSN) be
corrected on several of his award orders.

2.  The applicant states orders show he was awarded the Expert Marksmanship
Qualification Badge for the M-16 Rifle.  He states, in effect, that orders,
citations, and certificates show he was awarded four awards of the BSM.  He
states, in effect, that his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating
Decision shows he met the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple
Heart.  He states he was offered a battlefield commission, and he turned it
down.  They wanted him to extend for   6 months in Vietnam.  He feels he
was entitled to that commission.  He does not understand why, if the
Marines were given battlefield commissions, that Army Soldiers were not.

3.  The applicant provides orders dated 6 January 1970; his VA Rating
Decision; his Silver Star orders and certificate; a BSM certificate and
citation for the period 1 September 1970 to 31 October 1970; BSM orders and
a certificate for the period 1 December 1970 to 4 May 1971; amended BSM
orders, certificate, and citation for the period 1 December 1970 to 4 May
1971; a BSM citation for the period 1 September 1970 to 31 May 1971; and a
BSM certificate for the period   1 September 1970 to 31 July 1971.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR2004106316 on    3 March 2005.

2.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 5 September 1969 with the
SSN ___-_6-1592.

3.  Headquarters, U. S. Army Training Center, Infantry and Fort Polk,
Special Orders Number 005 dated 6 January 1970 awarded the applicant the
Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge [with rifle bar], M-16.

4.  The applicant arrived in Vietnam on or about 23 August 1970.

5.  Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders Number 10033 dated
   2 October 1970 awarded the applicant the Silver Star.  These orders and
the related award certificate incorrectly show his SSN as ___-_3-1512.

6.  Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders Number 10778 dated
    2 November 1970 awarded the applicant the BSM for the period 1
September 1970 to 31 October 1970.  These orders and the related award
certificate and citation incorrectly show his SSN as ___-_6-1512.

7.  The applicant was awarded a BSM for the period 3 December 1970 through
4 May 1971.  Both the basic orders and the amended orders (showing he was
awarded the BSM with First Oak Leaf Cluster), with their related
certificates and citations, reflect the correct SSN.

8.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he
departed Vietnam on or about 9 April 1971; however, a DA Form 137
(Installation Clearance Record) shows he was still in Vietnam on 6 August
1971.

9.  The applicant provided a BSM citation showing he was awarded the BSM
for the period 1 September 1970 to 31 May 1971.  He also provided a BSM
certificate showing he was awarded the BSM for the period 1 September 1970
to 31 July 1971.

10.  The applicant departed Vietnam on or about 12 August 1971.  He was
released from active duty on 12 August 1971.

11.  A VA Rating Decision dated 5 November 2005 indicated that the
applicant’s service medical records from 5 September 1969 through 12 August
1971 were available.  The VA awarded the applicant service connection for
residuals of shrapnel wounds to the back.  The VA noted that the injury
that resulted in the disability was not shown in his service medical
records.  The VA awarded the service connection because the applicant
reported (to the VA) a wound to his back, the evidence showed intense
combat with the enemy, and there was evidence of blasting cap wounds on an
un-named area of his body in March 1971.

12.  On 3 March 2005, the ABCMR denied the applicant’s request for award of
the Purple Heart and a third and fourth award of the BSM.  The ABCMR denied
his request for award of the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with
rifle bar (M-16) (orders for this badge were in his records but were
overlooked), allowing the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge
already on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report or
Transfer or Discharge) to remain.  The ABCMR denied his request for a
battlefield commission.
13.  In the 3 March 2005 Record of Proceedings, an internet website
(http://www.battlefieldcommissions.org) was cited.  The website stated, in
part, that the “Department of Defense, in an official communication, has
stated that there were no battlefield commissions awarded by the Army
during the Vietnam conflict.”  The website also noted that General
Westmoreland and General Singlaub had indicated that several
noncommissioned officers were commissioned on the battlefield.

14.  Army Regulation 601-50 governs the appointment of temporary
commissioned officers in the Army of the United States for immediate active
duty. It is to be used only when Reserve and Regular Army procurement
programs are unable to provide the numbers and types of individuals on
active duty in emergency situations.  In pertinent part, it gives the
criteria that apply to battlefield appointments.  Among other criteria, the
person must have shown fitness for appointment by actual leadership
performance and a table of organization and equipment and table of
distribution vacancy must exist.

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), in pertinent part, sets
forth requirements for award of basic marksmanship qualification badges.
The qualification badge is awarded to indicate the degree in which an
individual has qualified in a prescribed record course, and an appropriate
bar is furnished to denote each weapon with which the individual has
qualified.  The qualification badges are in three classes, in order of most
qualified to least qualified:  Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman.

16.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states 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.

17.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that only one decoration will be
awarded to an individual for the same act, achievement, or period of
meritorious service.  Continuation of the same or similar type service
already recognized by an award for meritorious service or achievement will
not be the basis for a second award.  If appropriate, an award may be made
to include the extended period of service by superseding the earlier award,
or the award previously made may be amended to incorporate the extended
period of service.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded the Expert
Marksmanship Qualification Badge with rifle bar (M-16).  This highest-level
marksmanship badge should be added to his DD Form 214 in lieu of the
Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with rifle bar (M-16).

2.  It is acknowledged that the VA has awarded the applicant service
connection for residuals of shrapnel wounds to the back.  However, the VA
also noted that the injury that resulted in the disability was not shown in
his service medical records.  Although the VA also noted that there was
evidence of blasting cap wounds on an un-named area of his body in March
1971, there is no evidence to show those wounds were the result of hostile
action and not from an accidental injury.

3.  The VA awarded the applicant service connection based on circumstantial
evidence (i.e., because the evidence also showed the applicant participated
in intense combat with the enemy).  Such a decision is within the VA’s
authority.  It is not within the authority of the Army, however.  The
governing Army authority requires that substantiating evidence 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.  As the VA Rating Decision
shows, the required medical evidence of record is not available.
Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the
Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant was awarded two BSMs, one for the period 1 September 1970
to 31 October 1970 and a second for the period 3 December 1970 through 4
May 1971.  He provided two additional BSM certificates/citations, one for
the period   1 September 1970 to 31 May 1971 and one for the period 1
September 1970 to 31 July 1971.

5.  In accordance with the governing regulation, only one decoration will
be awarded to an individual for the same act, achievement, or period of
meritorious service.  Continuation of the same or similar type service
already recognized by an award for meritorious service or achievement will
not be the basis for a second award (but an earlier award could be amended
to incorporate an extended period of service).  Both of the additional BSM
certificates/citations provided by the applicant encompass periods of time
already recognized by his second BSM.  If the latest BSM (for the period
ending 31 July 1971) were to be recognized, his second and “third” awards
of the BSM would have to be revoked, leaving him, once again, with two
awards of the BSM.  There is insufficient evidence on which to grant the
relief requested concerning additional awards of the BSM.

6.  In regard to the applicant’s request for a battlefield commission, the
original consideration of his case cited an internet website that indicated
that “Department of Defense, in an official communication, has stated that
there were no battlefield commissions awarded by the Army during the
Vietnam conflict.”

7.  It is acknowledged the same website also noted that General
Westmoreland and General Singlaub had indicated that several
noncommissioned officers were commissioned on the battlefield.
Nevertheless, the applicant stated he was offered a battlefield commission,
and he turned it down.  There is no entitlement to a commission that he
acknowledges he turned down, and granting this requested relief would not
be equitable.

8.  Two sets of documents -- Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General
Orders Number 10033 dated 2 October 1970 and the related certificate,
awarding the applicant the Silver Star and Headquarters, 25th Infantry
Division, General Orders Number 10778 dated  2 November 1970 and the
related certificate and citation, awarding him the BSM -- all contain an
incorrect SSN.
These documents should be amended to show his correct SSN of ___-_6-1592.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__kan___  __cvm___  __ym____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant partial amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number
AR2004106316 dated 3 March 2005.  As a result, the Board recommends that
all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected
by:

     a.  amending his DD Form 214 to show the Expert Marksmanship
Qualification Badge with rifle bar (M-16) in lieu of the Sharpshooter
Marksmanship Qualification Badge with rifle bar (M-16); and

     b.  amending Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders
Number 10033 dated 2 October 1970 awarding the applicant the Silver Star
and Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders Number 10778 dated
        2 November 1970 awarding him the Bronze Star Medal, and all
certificates and citations related to these two awards, to show his correct
SSN of ___-_6-1592.
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, two additional awards of the Bronze Star Medal,
and a battlefield commission.




                                  __Kathleen A. Newman__
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050018133                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060801                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |110.04                                  |
|3.                      |102.00                                  |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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