IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 26 January 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090013533
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests, in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he has been treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for over 40 years. He adds that on 31 December 1966 he was interviewed by ABC News because he was the first Soldier shot that day. In Japan, a colonel (doctor) gave him the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides:
a. page 3 of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record);
b. a picture of a doctor pinning a Purple Heart on a patient;
c. a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period 27 September 1963 to 26 March 1964; and
d. a copy of his DD Form 214 for the period 6 August 1965 to 14 December 1968, with a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) attached.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. After having had prior service, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 6 August 1965. He completed basic combat training, the basic airborne course, and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 36A (Wireman). On or about 19 July 1966, the applicant was reassigned to Vietnam for a tour of duty. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 502nd Infantry.
2. The applicant's DA Form 201 (Military Personnel Records Jacket) does not contain medical records, or a casualty report, or a telegram notifying next-of-kin that the applicant was wounded. It also does not contain orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart; therefore, a member for the Board staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command (HRC), which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973. This review failed to reveal any orders on file awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant's DA Form 201 does contain a DA Form 20 that shows in Block 40 (Wounds) he received a gunshot wound to his lower left leg on 31 December 1966. It also shows in Block 38 (Record of Assignments) that he was medically evacuated from the field; that on or about 18 January 1967, he was evacuated to Camp Zama, Japan; and that on or about 18 February 1967, he was medically evacuated to Walson Army Hospital, Fort Dix, NJ.
4. The applicant's name appears on the Vietnam Casualty Roster showing that he was wounded in action in Vietnam.
5. The applicant's DA Form 20 shows he remained at Walson Army Hospital until on or about 12 October 1967 when he was discharged as a patient and permanently assigned to the hospital as a clerk typist.
6. 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: (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record. In Vietnam, US Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided for award of the Purple Heart. It stated that Soldiers who were treated and returned to their units within 24 hours of being wounded would be awarded the Purple Heart by their unit of assignment. For wounded Soldiers requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or medical evacuation from Vietnam, the authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders.
7. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by all units serving in Vietnam. This document shows the applicant's unit the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry was cited for award of the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 29 July 1965 to 1 October 1966 by Department of the Army General Order Number 1, dated 1969, which amended Department of the Army General Order Number 17, dated 1968. It also shows that the unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period 8 February 1962 to 28 March 1973 by Department of the Army General Order Number 8, dated 1974.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant wants the Purple Heart added to his DD Form 214.
2. Although no orders can be found, there is ample evidence within the applicant's DA Form 201 to show that he was wounded in action in Vietnam on 31 December 1966. In addition, his name is on the Vietnam Casualty Roster. Orders should be published and the award, which has already been presented, should be added to his DD Form 214.
3. The applicant is also entitled to have the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation added to his DD Form 214.
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 a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
a. publishing orders for his already-awarded Purple Heart for wounds received in the Republic of Vietnam on 31 December 1966; and
b. adding the Purple Heart, Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation to his DD Form 214.
_______ _ X _______ ___
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090013533
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090013533
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