IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  13 July 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090017706 


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 reconsideration of his previous request for award of the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  The applicant states:

* while he was assigned to the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 50th Infantry Regiment, he served as just another infantryman in Company C for approximately 7 months
* during that time he was involved many times in combat
* nearly every night they were involved in a fire-fight and he would lose his hearing for a few days
* his hearing was damaged and he now wears hearing aids
* he believes he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart

3.  The applicant provides the following documentation:

* Special Orders Number 53 Extract, dated 22 June 1970
* a self-authored letter addressed to "Dear Sir or Madam"
* Internet funeral information entitled, "A Guide To Burial At Arlington National Cemetery"
* a 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Vietnam Combat Certificate, dated 3 November 1969


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 AR20080015428 on 23 December 2008.

2.  He enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 13 May 1968.  He successfully completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 31B2O (radio repairman).  He was transferred to Vietnam on 28 June 1969.  He departed Vietnam en route to Germany on 27 June 1970.

3.  The applicant departed Germany on 2 May 1971 and he returned to the continental United States.  After completing 2 years, 11 months, and 24 days of total active service, he was honorably released from active duty on 6 May 1971 as an overseas returnee.

4.  His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows the following awards:

* National Defense Service Medal
* "Vietnam Service & Campaign Medals"
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge

5.  The applicant submits a copy of Special Orders Number 53 Extract, dated 22 June 1970, showing that he was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 50th Infantry Regiment, when he was in Vietnam.  In the self-authored letter he submitted he states he believed he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart simply because he earned them and he thought the orders were in his record somewhere.  He states that on 11 March 2005 he was robbed, shot, and almost died.  He states he made a living will and he has decided he wants to be buried at Arlington Cemetery; however, he needs the Purple Heart that he earned to be eligible.

6.  The applicant also submits a 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Vietnam Combat Certificate, dated 3 November 1969, which shows he faithfully served his country and is deserving of the honors and respect afforded all Americans whose courageous deeds and sacrifices have preserved the liberty of South Vietnam and advanced the cause of freedom throughout the world.

7.  A review of the available records does not show that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action by enemy forces or that he was ever awarded an infantryman MOS while he was in the Army.

8.  The Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam Era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Brand of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, fails to reveal any orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.

9.  The applicant name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty list as being wounded in action while he was in Vietnam.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  All Soldiers are provided basic combat skills training after they enter the Army.  This is provided to ensure that all Soldiers have the survival skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arises.  The exigencies of combat may require non-infantry Soldiers to temporarily perform the basic infantry duties that all Soldiers are taught, but it is not a basis for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

12.  No other Soldier in combat is more exposed on a daily basis to the dangers and hardships of war and no other branch of the service suffers more casualties than the infantry.  To maintain the prestige, uniqueness, and traditional value of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the criteria for award has changed little over the years.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS.  They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.  Additionally, appendix V of U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) states that during the Vietnam era the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11D, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence does not support the applicant's contention that he earned the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows he was ever awarded any of the MOS's listed in Army Regulation 600-8-22 for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge during the Vietnam era.  

3.  The available records do not show he was ever wounded in action or as a result of hostile action while he was in the Army.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty list as being wounded and there are no orders in ADCARS awarding him the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.

4.  Based on the foregoing conclusions, the applicant was not then, nor is he now, eligible for award of the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x____  ____x____  ____x____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20080015428, dated 23 December 2008.



      ____________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)                                         AR20090017706



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017706



2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1