MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            29 December 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999016919

	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:

	Mr. George D. Paxson		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		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 a second Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he received the first award of the Purple Heart when he was wounded by a “booby trap”.  He contends that he was also “blown up” by a mortar round.  In support of his claim, the applicant submitted a picture of what is purported to be a bunker where the applicant was blown up in Vietnam and a sworn statement from a fellow soldier who claims to have been an eye-witness.

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

That the applicant was inducted on 16 January 1969.  He completed training as an infantryman and served in Vietnam from 1 August 1969 to 16 July 1970.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 29 January 1971.

The applicant’s DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows entitlement to one award of the Purple Heart.  His records contain a telegram notifying his parents that he was wounded on 8 April 1970 when he stepped on a punji stake.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows the entry “PSW [punji stake wound] (L) KNEE [left knee] 8APR70 [8 April 1970] in item 40 (Wounds).  His records also contain 17th Field Hospital General Orders Number 81, dated 9 April 1970, which awarded him the Purple Heart.

The applicant submitted a sworn statement, dated 10 November 1997, from an individual who claims to have been an eye-witness in January or February 1970 “when a mortar round struck and blew [the applicant] out of his bunker”.  The former fellow soldier indicated the applicant was evacuated with “injuries to his ears, eyes and head in general” and submitted a picture of the bunker.

There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records which show that he was awarded a second Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in his records that he was wounded or treated for wounds a second time as a result of hostile action in January or February 1970.  His DA Form 20 does not list any entries other than his 8 April 1970 wound in item 40.

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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

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.  There is no evidence of record which shows that the applicant was awarded a second award of the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or treated for wounds a second time as a result of hostile action.  

2.  The Board reviewed the statement of the fellow soldier who claims the applicant was wounded by a mortar round in January or February 1970.  However, this statement, made almost 30 years after the event in question, is not by itself sufficient as a basis for award of a second Purple Heart in this case, particularly in the absence of any evidence which shows that the applicant was wounded by a mortar round in January or February 1970.  There is no medical evidence of record, notification of next-of-kin, orders or other official record of wounds sustained by the applicant in January or February 1970 and the applicant authenticated his discharge and his DA Form 20 thereby attesting to the facts that he was not wounded and did not receive a Purple Heart for wounds sustained during January or February 1970.

3.  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.

4.  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

GDP____  CLG____  CJP_____  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999016919	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19991229	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19710129	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200	
DISCHARGE REASON	ETS	
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.