MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            2 September 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998013223

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

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas N. Kuhn		Member	
	Mr. James M. Alward		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  Award of the Purple Heart and “Glider Wings” (correctly known as the Glider Badge).  

APPLICANT STATES:  That the awards cited above should be corrected in order to update his records.  He also states in attachment to his application that “The Army owes me back payment from the difference of retirement from the Army and medical retirement from the period of 1980 to the present.  My retirement was changed from Army Retirement to veteran disability.”  The applicant submitted a 19 December 1997 certification by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) which shows that he received service connected disability at the rate of 70 percent.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

That the applicant entered active duty on 29 August 1946 and completed over 20 years of active Federal service.  He submitted a request for voluntary retirement on 9 April 1976 and was separated on 30 September 1976 for the purpose of retirement based on length of service.  

None of the applicant’s discharge documents (WD AGO Forms 53 or DD Forms 214) show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  However, his records contain a DD Form 215 (Correction to a DD Form 214), dated 31 March 1987, which amended his DD Form 214 (with an effective date of 30 September 1976) to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.  His service personnel records show that he was wounded in Vietnam as a result of hostile action on 17 November 1968.

None of the applicant’s discharge documents show that he was authorized award of the Glider Badge.  There is no indication in his service personnel records that he attended glider training or was otherwise eligible for award of the Glider Badge.

The applicant’s DD Form 214 (with an effective date of 30 September 1976) shows that he was discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 12, for length of service, not disability.  There is no indication that the applicant was processed for or otherwise entitled to Army disability.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 states, in pertinent part, that award of the Glider Badge was discontinued effective 3 May 1961.  The regulation authorizes wear of the Glider Badge if the individual met the eligibility requirements then in effect. The regulation also provides for award of the Glider Badge retroactively when it can be established by means of sufficient documentation that the proficiency tests then prescribed were satisfactorily completed while the individual was assigned or attached to an airborne unit, or to the Airborne Department of the Infantry School, or by participating in at least one combat glider landing into enemy-held territory as a member of an organized force carrying out an assigned tactical mission for which the unit was credited with an airborne assault landing by the theater commander. 

Title 10, United States Code, chapter 61, provides disability retirement or separation for a member who is physically unfit to perform the duties of his office, rank, grade or rating because of disability incurred while entitled to basic pay.

An award of a DVA rating does not establish entitlement to medical retirement or separation from the Army.  Operating under its own policies and regulations, the DVA, which has neither the authority nor the responsibility for determining medical unfitness for military duty, awards ratings because a medical condition is related to service ("service-connected") and affects the individual's civilian employability. Furthermore, the DVA can evaluate a veteran throughout his or her lifetime, adjusting the percentage of disability based upon that agency's examinations and findings.  The Army must find that a service member is physically unfit to reasonably perform his or her duties and assign an appropriate disability rating before he or she can be medically retired or separated.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The applicant’s records were corrected on 31 March 1987 to show award of the Purple Heart; therefore, his records are correct as currently constituted in so far as award of the Purple Heart is concerned.

2.  There is no evidence of record, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows that he was awarded the Glider Badge or was otherwise entitled to award of the Glider Badge.

3.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he is owed back pay because his “retirement was changed from Army Retirement to veteran disability.”  The applicant voluntarily requested retirement and he was retired because he had completed over 20 years of active Federal service, not for medical reasons.  There is no evidence that the applicant’s medical condition at the time of his discharge from the Army warranted disability retirement or separation and the DVA’s award of service connected disability is not a basis for granting Army disability.  In the absence of disability awarded by the Army, there is no basis for the applicant’s claim for back pay from the Army for disability.

4.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.
5.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant’s request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

MKP____  TNK_____  JMA_____  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998013223	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990902	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19760930	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200	
DISCHARGE REASON	RETIREMENT-YEARS OF SERVICE	
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR HARRELL	
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.	108.00	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.