RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            14 December 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20060007785


      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. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael Flynn                 |     |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, in effect, that he was wounded while riding in a
personnel carrier that hit an enemy mine and was evacuated to a hospital
for treatment; however, he was not awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the telegram his mother received after
he was transported to the hospital.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 22 May 1973.  The application submitted in this case is dated
24 April 2006.

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 inducted in Seattle, Washington on 9 July 1969 and
completed his training at Fort Lewis, Washington.  He was transferred to
Vietnam on 5 December 1969 and was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion,
61st Infantry Regiment for duty as a light weapons infantryman.

4.  On 3 March 1970, he was slightly wounded in action (fragmentation
wounds to the chin) when his vehicle (armored personnel carrier) detonated
a hostile mine while on a combat operation in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.  He
was treated and hospitalized in Vietnam.

5.  He was honorably discharged on 11 April 1970 for the purpose of
immediate reenlistment.  He reenlisted on 12 April 1970 for a period of 3
years and reclassification to a clerk-typist military occupational
specialty (MOS).  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on 3 May 1970 and
was reassigned as a clerk-typist.

6.  He departed Vietnam on 8 July 1971 and was transferred to Fort Leonard
Wood, Missouri, where he remained until he was honorably discharged by
reason of physical disability with severance pay (10%) on 22 May 1973.  He
had served 3 years, 10 months and 14 days of total active service and was
awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal with four
bronze service stars, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Good
Conduct Medal.

7.  A review of the available records fails to show that the applicant was
ever awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds of 3 March 1970.

8.  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.

9.  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 for the period he served with the unit.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record clearly shows that the applicant was wounded as
a result of enemy action in Vietnam on 3 March 1970 while serving as an
infantryman in the rank of private first class (PFC).  Accordingly, he is
entitled to be awarded the Purple Heart at this time.

2.  The evidence also shows that his unit was subsequently awarded the
RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation.  Accordingly, he is also entitled to have that
award entered on his records as well.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 22 May 1973; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 21 May 1976.  The applicant did not file within the 3-year
statute of limitations; however, based on the available evidence, it would
be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this
case.

BOARD VOTE:

__JS____  __LE____  ___MF  _  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 3 March 1970
while serving in the rank of PFC and by awarding him the RVNGC w/Palm Unit
Citation.






                            ______John Slone_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060007785                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |YYYYMMDD                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT PLUS)                            |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES                  |61/PH                                   |
|1.107.0015              |                                        |
|2.107.0094              |140/RVNGC                               |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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