BOARD DATE:	  6 January 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100024378 


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 earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he received shrapnel wounds to his neck and burns to his left wrist when his tracked vehicle ran over a landmine during combat operations in the Republic of Vietnam on 8 November 1968.

3.  The applicant provides his former unit's medical corpsman/witness' Combat Medical Badge orders and page 3 of the medic's DA Form 20 (Personnel Qualification Record).

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 AR20100000040 on 13 July 2010.

2.  The applicant submitted Headquarters, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Special Orders Number 324, dated 25 November 1968, which shows his unit's former medic was awarded the Combat Medical Badge while assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and a DA Form 20 which shows in item 39 (Record of Assignments) the medic was assigned to the unit named above from on or about 28 September 1968 through 21 August 1969 performing the duties of an ambulance driver and troop aidman.  These documents were not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, they are considered new evidence and warrant consideration by the Board.

3.  His record shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 1 April 1968.  He was released from active duty on 31 March 1970 having completed 2 years of active service during this period.

4.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) of his DA Form 20 shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam from 27 August 1968 through 23 August 1969.

5.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 shows that during his tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam, he was assigned to Troop B, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

6.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge (M-14), Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge (M-16), and 1st Class Gunner Marksmanship Qualification Badge (M-60).

7.  There is no evidence in the available record showing he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show award of the Purple Heart.  Further, his name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster and there were no Purple Heart orders pertaining to the applicant found in the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System.

8.  He provides new evidence in the form of his witness/medic's Combat Medical Badge orders and page 3 of a DA Form 20.  These documents show the witness was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, from on or about 28 September 1968 to on or about 21 August 1969.  This same witness provided a statement, dated 18 November 2009, in which he attests he was the Army combat medic who treated the applicant for a shrapnel wound to his neck which was sustained when his tracked vehicle was blown up by a land mine on 8 November 1968.  The witness remembers completing the injury report and the forms that qualified the applicant for the Purple Heart at the time.

9.  Previously-submitted evidence included a self-authored statement wherein the applicant recounts the events that occurred on 8 November 1968 and two DD Forms 1380 (U.S. Field Medical Card) indicating he sustained a shrapnel wound to the right side of his neck while involved in a firefight on 11 November 1968.  Item 30 of one of these forms indicates he was awarded the Purple Heart at 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Calvary Regiment.  These forms also show his wound was cleaned and dressed; however, item 29 (Medical Officer (Signature and Grade) of both forms are blank and they are not authenticated by medical personnel.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have been treated by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official records.

11.  A review of his records indicates entitlement to additional awards and decorations that are not shown on his DD Form 214.

12.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 shows he received "excellent" conduct and efficiency ratings throughout his military service.  Additionally, his record is void of any derogatory information that would have disqualified him from receiving his first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.

13.  Appendix B of Army Regulation 600-8-22 shows the applicant participated in four campaigns during his tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam:  the Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase V (1 July 1968 - 1 November 1968), Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VI (2 November 1968 - 22 February 1969), Tet 
69 Counteroffensive (23 February 1969 - 8 June 1969), and Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 (9 June 1969 - 31 October 1969).  This same regulation states that a bronze service star will be awarded for wear on the Vietnam Service Medal for participation in each campaign.

14.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) shows that during his assignment to B Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, this unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for service from 1 May 1969 to 15 February 1970, based on Department of the Army General Order Number
50, dated 1971.

15.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Awards), in effect at the time, 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; for first award 


only, 1 year served entirely during the period 7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946; 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.  The enlisted person must have had all "excellent" conduct and efficiency ratings.  There must have been no convictions by a court-martial.  However, there was no right or entitlement to the medal until the immediate commander made a positive recommendation for its award and until the awarding authority announced the award in general orders.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  His record contains medical cards which indicate he received shrapnel wounds to the right side of his neck during a fire fight.  The wounds were cleaned and dressed and he was returned to duty.  The unit medic he served with provided a statement that he personally treated the applicant after his tracked vehicle was blown up by a land mine on 8 November 1968.

2.  Any doubt should be resolved in the applicant's favor.  As such, there appears to be sufficient evidence to show he was wounded in action in Vietnam on or around 8 November 1968 which would entitle him to award of the Purple Heart and correction of his records to show it.

3.  The evidence of record shows the applicant served in Vietnam from 27 August 1968 through 23 August 1969 with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Calvary Regiment.  He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

4.  He was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal.  Additionally, records show he participated in four campaigns while serving in the Republic of Vietnam.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of four instead of three bronze service stars to be affixed to the Vietnam Service Medal.

5.  General orders awarded his unit the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation which is not shown on his DD Form 214.  He is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show this unit award.

6.  The applicant served a qualifying period of service and he received "excellent" conduct and efficiency ratings throughout his service with no disciplinary actions or a commander's disqualification.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Army Good Conduct Medal (First Award) and correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award.



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 was sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20100000040, dated 13 July 2010.  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 8 November 1968 and the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st award) for the period 1 April 1968 through 31 March 1970; and
   
   b.  deleting from his DD Form 214 the three bronze service stars from his previously-awarded Vietnam Service Medal
   
   c.  adding to his DD Form 214 the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award), Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, and four bronze service stars for wear on his previously-awarded Vietnam Service Medal.




      ___________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)                                         AR20100024378



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100024378



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