RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 18 March 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20070017914
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.
x
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, in effect, reconsideration of his earlier request for award of two Purple Hearts.
2. The applicant states that the orders for the two Purple Hearts were omitted from his file when he left the Army.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge); his general orders awarding him the Purple Heart; and two documents showing he was wounded, on 24 March 1968 and on 25 March 1968.
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 AR20040003173 on 29 March 2005.
2. The applicant has provided new evidence that will be considered by the Board.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 30 August 1967. After the completion of basic combat training and advanced individual training, he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (light weapons infantryman). He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry in Vietnam on 13 February 1968.
4. Item 40 (Wounds) on the applicants DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) contains two entries which indicate he sustained fragment wounds to his right thigh and buttocks on 24 March 1968 and that he sustained fragment wounds to both legs on 25 May 1968.
5. The applicants name is listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster and indicates he was wounded in action on 25 May 1968.
6. The applicant provided a document which indicates he sustained fragment wounds to his right thigh and buttocks on 24 March 1968 at 1435 hours. The document indicates the applicant was on a search and destroy mission when he was hit by hostile RPG [Rocket-Propelled Grenade] rocket fire. His condition was described as Fair at the 3rd Field Hospital.
7. The applicant provided a second document which indicates he sustained fragment wounds to both legs on 25 May 1968. The document indicates he was on a reconnaissance in force when he was hit by hostile booby-trap. His condition was described as excellent at the Battalion Aid Station and he was returned to duty.
8. Headquarters, 199th Infantry Brigade General Orders Number 776, dated 19 July 1968, awarded the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 25 May 1968.
9. 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. A first oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of the Purple Heart.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. General orders show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 25 May 1968. Therefore, his DD Form 214 should be amended to show the Purple Heart.
2. There are no orders which show the applicant was awarded a second award of the Purple Heart. However, his Enlisted Qualification Record and the document provided by the applicant show he sustained fragment wounds to his right thigh and buttocks on 24 March 1968. This evidence is accepted as sufficient as a basis to correct his DD Form 214 to show two awards of the Purple Heart.
BOARD VOTE:
x______ x______ x_____ 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 amendment of the ABCMRs decision in Docket Number AR20040003173, dated 29 March 2005. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
a. awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received on 24 March 1968; and
b. amending his DD Form 214 to show the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
x_______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20070017914
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
(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)
REVIEW AUTHORITY
Ms. Mitrano
ISSUES 1.
107.0015
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6.
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