RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        26 July 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070002242


      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.

|     |Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano          |     |Director             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Jerome L. Pionk               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. John G. 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 the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the
Purple Heart be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States
Report of Transfer or Discharge).  He also requests, in effect, that his DD
Form 214 be corrected to show he was assigned to Company A, 3d Battalion,
187th Infantry, 101st Airborne.

2.  The applicant states he was awarded the Purple Heart and the CIB in
Vietnam.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214; a Purple Heart certificate; and
a Western Union telegram.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on   3 April 1970.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 31 January 2007.

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 into the Army on 4 April 1968.  He completed
basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded
military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

4.  The applicant arrived in Vietnam and was assigned to Company B, 2d
Battalion, 35th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, on 9 September 1968.  His
DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he performed duties with
this unit in MOS 11B.

5.  The applicant provided a Western Union telegram (which was also filed
in his official records) and a Purple Heart certificate showing he was
wounded in action on 7 March 1969.  His name is listed on the Vietnam
Casualty Roster as being slightly wounded in action on 7 March 1969.

6.  The applicant was transferred to the 101st Airborne Division on 21
April 1969 and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d
Battalion, 187th Infantry on 28 May 1969.  He transferred to Company A, 3d
Battalion, 187th Infantry on 1 June 1969.  His DA Form 20 shows he
performed duties with these units as a rifleman in MOS 11B.  He departed
Vietnam on 30 August 1969 enroute to assignment to Company A, 5th
Battalion, 6th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Fort Hood, TX.

7.  Orders for the CIB are not filed in the applicant’s records.  Item 41
(Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show he was awarded the
CIB.

8.  On 12 January 1970, the applicant accepted nonjudicial punishment under
Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice for absenting himself from his
unit from 6:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on 10 January 1970.

9.  On 3 April 1970, the applicant was honorably released from active duty
after completing 2 years of creditable active service with no time lost.
His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal with four
bronze service stars, the National Defense Service Medal, the Republic of
Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge
(rifle), and the First Class Gunner [Badge] (M-60 machine gun).

10.  Item 12 (Last Duty Assignment and Major Command) of the applicant’s DD
Form 214 shows his last duty assignment was Company A, 5th Battalion, 6th
Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Fort Hood TX, Fourth U. S. Army.

11.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 shows he was given conduct and efficiency
ratings of “excellent” throughout his service.  Item 42 (Remarks) also
shows he was fully qualified to reenlist.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the
Purple Heart 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.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the CIB to a Soldier
who is an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, who is
assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in
active ground combat, and who actively participates in such ground combat.


14.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, provided policy and
criteria concerning individual military decorations.  It stated the Army
Good Conduct Medal was awarded for each 3 years of continuous enlisted
active Federal military service completed on or after 27 August 1940 and,
for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June
1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year.  At the time, a Soldier’s
conduct and efficiency ratings must have been rated as “excellent” for the
entire period of qualifying service.

15.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units
serving in Vietnam.  This document shows that, at the time of the
applicant's assignment to the 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry, it was cited for
award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation
for the period 1 August 1967 through     28 July 1969 by Department of the
Army General Orders (DAGO) Number 38, dated 1970.

16.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 shows that, at the time of the
applicant's assignment to the 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry, it was also
cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First
Class Unit Citation for the period 1 August 1967 through 31 August 1969 by
DAGO Number 53, dated 1970.

17.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 shows that, at the time of the
applicant's assignment to the 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry, it was cited
for award of the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class
Unit Citation for the period 3 October 1968 through 2 May 1970 by DAGO
Number 48, dated 1971.

18.  Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents prepared for
Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military
service or control of the Army.  In pertinent part, it states the DD Form
214 is a synopsis of the Soldier’s most recent period of continuous active
duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the
time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Western Union telegram and the Purple Heart certificate provided by
the applicant are accepted as sufficient evidence to show he was awarded
the Purple Heart for wounds received on 7 March 1969.

2.  There is no evidence of record to show the applicant was awarded the
CIB.  However, he was an infantryman assigned to an infantry company.
Since he was wounded in action, it appears he satisfactorily performed
duties as an infantryman.  Therefore, it appears he met the eligibility
criteria for award of the CIB.

3.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty after completing
       2 years of creditable active service with no time lost.  Although he
was given one Article 15 for a minor offense (for being absent from his
unit for a few hours), his DA Form 20 shows that his conduct and efficiency
were nonetheless rated as “excellent” and that he was fully qualified for
reenlistment.  Therefore, it appears he met the eligibility criteria for
award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.

4.  The applicant was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry during a
period of time it was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry
Cross with Palm Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions
Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.  He was also assigned to the 3d
Battalion, 187th Infantry, during a period of time that unit was cited for
award of the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit
Citation.  Therefore, these unit awards should be added to his DD Form 214.


5.  The applicant requested, in effect, that his DD Form 214 be corrected
to show he was assigned to Company A, 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st
Airborne.  The DD Form 214 was not meant to be a record of a Soldier’s
entire service.  That is what the DA Form 20 was for, and the applicant’s
DA Form 20 does show that he was assigned to Company A, 3d Battalion, 187th
Infantry.  The DD Form 214 is only meant to provide a brief, clear-cut
record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty,
retirement, or discharge.  At the time of the applicant’s release from
active duty, he was assigned to Company A, 5th Battalion, 6th Infantry, 1st
Armored Division, Fort Hood, TX.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 properly
reflects this unit as his last duty assignment.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 3 April 1970; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 2 April 1973.  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:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__lds___  __jlp___  __jgh___  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 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:

    a.  awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 4 April
1968 through 3 April 1970; and

     b.  adding the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Purple Heart, the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit
Citation, and two awards of the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor
Medal First Class Unit Citation to his DD Form 214.

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
correcting his DD Form 214 to show he was assigned to Company A, 3d
Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne.



                            __Linda D. Simmons____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20070002242                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070726                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Ms. Mitrano                             |
|ISSUES         1.       |110.04                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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