2.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart for sustaining shrapnel wounds to his face while in Vietnam.  He submits VA documentation in support of his claim.

3.  The applicant’s military records show he was inducted into the Army on       13 April 1970.  He served in Vietnam from 13 September 1970 - 8 September 1971 as a rifleman and gunner.

4.  Medical records show that he was treated for a minor fragment wound to the left face above the eyebrow on 20 March 1971.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence in the applicant’s medical records show he was wounded by (presumably shrapnel) fragments and was treated by medical personnel.

2.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION

                                                                         
    CHAIRPERSON