RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        25 July 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060001205


      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. Allen L. Raub                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. LaVerne Douglas               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Peguine M. Taylor             |     |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 report of separation (DD Form 214) be
corrected to reflect his award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he received the Purple Heart on 1 June 1969
for wounds received in action on 31 May 1969 and it was omitted from his DD
Form 214 at the time of his release from active duty (REFRAD).

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his Purple Heart Certificate showing
he was wounded on 31 May 1969 and that it was awarded on 1 June 1969.  The
certificate was signed by a medical corps colonel.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 24 April 1970.  The application submitted in this case is dated
12 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.  He was inducted in Beckley, West Virginia, on 25 April 1968 and was
transferred to Fort Knox, Kentucky to undergo his basic combat training
(BCT).  He completed his BCT and was transferred to Fort Polk, Louisiana,
to undergo his advanced individual raining (AIT) as a light weapons
infantryman.

4.  Upon completion of his AIT he was transferred to Vietnam on 24
September 1968 and was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry
Regiment, 4th Infantry Division for duty as an assistant gunner.  He was
advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on 15 December 1968 and was awarded the
Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) on 11 January 1969.

5.  The applicant’s records show that he received fragmentation wounds to
the abdomen on 31 May 1969.  However, the records do not show that a Purple
Heart was awarded.

6.  He was promoted to the pay grade of E-5 on 12 August 1969 and departed
Vietnam on 17 September 1969 for assignment to Fort Hood, Texas, where he
remained until he was honorably REFRAD on 24 April 1970 due to the
expiration of his term of service.  He had served 2 years of total active
service and his DD Form 214 issued at the time of his REFRAD shows that he
was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal
(VSM) with four bronze service stars, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign
Medal, the CIB, the Army Commendation Medal and marksmanship badges.

7.  A review of his official records fails to reveal orders for the award
of the Purple Heart.  However, his records show that he had excellent
conduct and efficiency ratings throughout his service and his record is
void of any derogatory information that would serve to disqualify him for
award of the Army Good Conduct Medal (GCMDL).

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 unit was
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 unit.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although there are no orders in his records to show the award of the
Purple Heart, there is evidence in the records that verifies that he was
wounded on 31 May 1969.  Additionally, the Purple Heart Certificate
provided by the applicant also shows that he was wounded on 31 May 1969 and
that the Purple Heart was awarded on 1 June 1969.  The fact that it was
signed by a medical corps colonel is indicative that it was awarded in a
medical treatment facility.

2.   Therefore, it is reasonable to presume when considering all of the
available evidence that the Purple Heart was in fact awarded on 1 June 1969
and that copies of the certificate and orders never made it to the records.
 Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to correct his records
at this time to show his award of the Purple Heart.

3.  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 25 April 1968 through 24 April 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.

4.  Additionally, the applicant’s unit was 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:

__ALR___  __LD____  __PMT_  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 showing that he was awarded the Purple
Heart and by awarding him the GCMDL for the period of 25 April 1968 to 24
April 1970 and by awarding him the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation and the
RVNCAHM-FC Unit Citation.





                            _____Allen L. Raub _____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060001205                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060725                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT PLUS)                            |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES                  |                                        |
|1.107.0015/61/PH        |                                        |
|2.107.0056/102/GCMDL    |                                        |
|3.107.0094/140VGC       |                                        |
|4.107.0095/141/CAHM     |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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