IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 31 March 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100021276
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 award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states:
* he was wounded in South Vietnam in or around March 1968
* his helicopter took a hit and went down in a minefield
* he never received a Purple Heart for his wound like many others did under the very same conditions
3. The applicant provides:
* a letter from a former Soldier addressed to the Veterans Administration (VA) and Hospital
* the former Soldier's DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* the former Soldier's DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214)
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 14 June 1966. He completed training as an infantryman.
2. He was released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement) on 16 June 1969 at the expiration of his term of service.
3. The DD Form 214 he received shows the following awards:
* National Defense Service Medal
* Aircraft Crewman Badge
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar
* Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars
* Second Class Gunner Badge (M-60 Machine Gun)
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
* Air Medal with 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster
4. There are no orders in the applicant's records showing he was awarded the Purple Heart.
5. The Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam Era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, fails to reveal any orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
6. The applicant's name is shown on the Vietnam casualty listing as being wounded in action on 22 April 1967.
7. The applicant provides a letter addressed to the VA from a former Soldier who contends the applicant served with him in Vietnam and sustained shrapnel wounds to his left arm a leg after his helicopter landed on a land mine.
8. U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) states the authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders. Further, it directed that all personnel treated and released within 24 hours would be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to which the individual was assigned. Personnel requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam would be awarded the Purple Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.
9. Department of the Army General Orders Number 8, dated 1974, announced award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation to Headquarters, U.S. Military Assistance Command, and its subordinate units during the period 8 February 1962 to 28 March 1973 and to Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam, and its subordinate units during the period 20 July 1965 to 28 March 1973.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contentions have been noted. His supporting documents have been considered.
2. The available evidence shows the applicant sustained shrapnel wounds to his left arm and leg as a result of hostile action on 22 April 1967. His name is shown on the Vietnam casualty listing; therefore, he should be awarded the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant is also authorized and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation. This award should be shown on 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 the evidence presented is 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. awarding him the Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds sustained to his left leg and arm as a result of hostile action on 22 April 1967; and
b. amending his DD Form 214 to add the Purple Heart and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.
____________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) AR20090005994
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100021276
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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