PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            27 April 1999     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998012619

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Kenneth Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), and any unit citation awarded the 24th Infantry Division.  

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded on 26 February 1991 by Iraq 100mm mortar fragments and treated in the field.  He states that he has provided several medical documents and has tried for over four years [to obtain these awards].  He has provided his file, witness statements, and VA medical records, which include an X-ray showing the 5mm metallic fragment imbedded in his forehead (NOTE:  None of these documents have been provided to this Board).  

4.  The applicant’s military records only show a microfiche copy of his                  DD Form 214.  That form shows that he entered on active duty on 15 June 1987 and was released from active duty on 15 June 1992 at Fort Benning, Georgia, in the rank of Sergeant.  He was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device, the Army Commendation Medal with the second oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the government of Saudi Arabia, among others.

5.  He was discharged for the convenience of the government under the FY92 early transition program.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
  
7.  A Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Government of Saudi Arabia was approved on 3 January 1992 and is awarded  to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participated in the Persian Gulf War between               17 January 1991 and 28 February 1991.

8.  A Kuwait Liberation Medal was also awarded by the Government of Kuwait, was approved on 9 November 1995, and is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participated in the Persian Gulf War between     2 August 1990 and 31 August 1993.

9.  There is no available evidence to show that the applicant was wounded in action, nor has the applicant provided any to this Board.  Nor is there any evidence to show what unit he was assigned to in Saudi Arabia, and the inclusive dates of his assignment there.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence to show that the applicant was wounded in action.  He is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.  There is no evidence of the applicant’s unit or inclusive dates of assignment in Saudi Arabia.  His eligibility for award of a unit citation cannot be determined. 

2.  The applicant was awarded the Kuwait Liberation Medal by the government of Saudi Arabia, showing that he did serve in the Persian Gulf War at sometime between 17 January 1991 and 28 February 1991.  The dates for the award of the Kuwait Liberation Medal by the government of Kuwait are between                      2 August 1990 and 31 August 1993.  He is therefore entitled to that award.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Kuwait Liberation Medal by the government of Kuwait for his participation in the Persian Gulf War.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___jns__  ___rvo__  ___clg__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998012619	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990427	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.