IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 December 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120009823
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, the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests her late husband be awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states the FSM should have received the Purple Heart because he was wounded on 22 April 1967 in Vietnam.
3. The applicant provides:
* Service medical records
* FSM's death certificate
* FSM's DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* Page 4 of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* Western Union telegram
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 1 November 1966. He arrived in Vietnam on 11 April 1967. He served as a light weapons infantryman assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam from 14 April 1967 until he was wounded on 22 April 1967 and transferred to the United States on 8 June 1967 for further medical treatment. On 3 November 1968, he was released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining service obligation.
2. His DD Form 214 shows the:
* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
3. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 shows he was wounded on
22 April 1967 (fractured left tibia and fibula).
5. A Western Union telegram, dated 23 April 1967, states the FSM was slightly wounded in Vietnam on 22 April 1967 as a result of hostile action. He sustained a fractured left tibia and left fibula while a passenger in a military vehicle returning from a combat operation when the vehicle struck a hostile mine.
6. The applicant provided service medical records, dated 1967, which state the FSM was injured on 22 April 1967 in Vietnam when a convoy truck in which he was riding struck an enemy mine.
7. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show the Purple Heart.
8. A review of 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 Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the FSM.
9. Records show the FSM participated in one campaign during his assignment in Vietnam.
10. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the awards received by units serving in Vietnam. This pamphlet shows the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation in Department of the Army General Orders 70, dated 1969.
11. 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 by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) was awarded by the Government of Vietnam to all members of the Armed Forces of the United States for qualifying service in Vietnam during the period 1 March 1961 through 28 March 1973. Qualifying service included assignment in Vietnam for 6 months or more. Individuals who had qualified for award of the Vietnam Service Medal or the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and were evacuated prior to completing six months of service due to wounds resulting from hostile action were entitled to award of the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
13. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states a bronze service star is worn on the appropriate service ribbon for each credited campaign, to include the Vietnam Service Medal.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The service medical records and the Western Union telegram which show the FSM was wounded on 22 April 1967 are accepted as sufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart.
2. Since the FSM qualified for the Vietnam Service Medal and he was evacuated from Vietnam prior to completing six months of service due to wounds resulting from hostile action, he is entitled to award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960). His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this medal.
3. He participated in one campaign during his assignment in Vietnam that entitles him to one bronze service star for wear on his already-awarded Vietnam Service Medal. His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this service star.
4. His unit in Vietnam unit was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation during his period of assignment. His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this unit award.
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. posthumously awarding the FSM the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 22 April 1967 in Vietnam;
b. adding the Purple Heart, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and one bronze service star for wear on his already-awarded Vietnam Service Medal to his DD Form 214; and
c. issuing the Purple Heart to the applicant.
_______ _ 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.
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