RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            15 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20060000402


      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 Powell                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Rose Lys                      |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. John Heck                     |     |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 that he was wounded in action by the enemy in
Vietnam on 25 April 1968 and should have been awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a clinical record cover sheet dated 29
April 1968 showing that he was treated for a 25 April 1968 wound and that
he was not awarded the Purple Heart at the treating hospital.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 13 February 1969.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 19 December 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 limitations 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.  The applicant was born on 18 March 1941 and enlisted in Detroit,
Michigan, on 8 April 1966, for a period of 2 years and the Officer
Candidate School (OCS) training option.  He completed his basic combat
training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and was transferred to Fort Sill,
Oklahoma, to undergo his advanced individual training (AIT) as a Field
Artillery Operations and Intelligence Assistant. He successfully completed
his AIT and was enrolled in Field Artillery OCS on 22 August 1966.  He was
also promoted to the pay grade of E-5 upon his enrollment in OCS.

4.  He successfully completed OCS and was honorably discharged on
13 February 1967 for the purpose of accepting a commission as an officer in
the Army.  He had served 10 months and 6 days of active service and was
awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

5.  He was commissioned as a United States Army Reserve (USAR) second
lieutenant in the Field Artillery, with a concurrent call to active duty on
14 February 1967.  His initial assignment was to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where
he remained until he was transferred to Vietnam on 11 December 1967.

6.  He was initially assigned to A Battery, 6th Battalion, 29th Artillery
Regiment, 4th Infantry Division for duty as a forward observer.  He was
promoted to the rank of first lieutenant (1LT) on 14 February 1968 and on
15 February 1968, he was transferred to C Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd
Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, for duty as a forward observer.

7.  On 25 April 1968, while on a combat operation engaged in a firefight
with hostile forces, the applicant sustained fragmentation wounds to the
left knee.  He was evacuated to the 71st  Evacuation Hospital for treatment
and was subsequently evacuated to the 106th General Hospital in Japan and
then to the United States Army Hospital at Fort Ord, California.  He
remained in a patient status until 26 September 1968 when he was assigned
to Fort Ord as permanent party.

8.  He remained at Fort Ord until 13 February 1969, when he was honorably
released from active duty (REFRAD) due to the expiration of his active duty
commitment.  He had served 2 years as a commissioned officer for a total of
2 years, 10 months and 6 days of total active service.  His DD Form 214
issued at the time of his REFRAD indicates that he was awarded the Vietnam
Service Medal (VSM) and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal during his
last period of service.  There is no evidence in the available records to
show that he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action
against an enemy or 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, and the medical treatment must have
been made a matter of official record.

10.  Department of the 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 subsequent to the applicant’s departure from Vietnam, his
unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm (RVNGC
w/Palm) Unit Citation, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal –
First Class (RVNCAHM-FC) Unit Citation and the Valorous Unit Award for the
period he served with the unit.  Additionally, he participated in three
campaigns during his assignment to Vietnam and is thus entitled to wear
three bronze service stars on his already awarded VSM.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record clearly shows that the applicant was wounded in
Vietnam as a result of enemy action on 25 April 1968 and his treatment of
those wounds was made a matter of record.  Accordingly, it would be in the
interest of justice to award him the Purple Heart at this time.

2.  Additionally, the applicant’s unit was subsequently awarded the RVNGC
w/Palm Unit Citation, the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation and the VUA.
Accordingly, he is entitled to be awarded those awards as well and to have
his records corrected to reflect those awards.

3.  The applicant also participated in three campaigns and is authorized to
be awarded three bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM.

BOARD VOTE:

__PS ___  ___RL   _  ____JH__  GRANT FULL 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 25 April 1968,
while serving as a 1LT, and by awarding him the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation,
the RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation, the VUA and three bronze service stars for
wear on his already awarded VSM.




                            _____Shirley Powell____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060000402                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060815                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD)                                    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19690213                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 135-173                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT PLUS)                            |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES                  |61/PH                                   |
|1.107.0015              |                                        |
|2.107.0094              |140/VNGC                                |
|3.107.0095              |141/VNCA                                |
|4.107.0033              |79/VUA                                  |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]