MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            11 March 1999    
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999021763

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		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 the application was filed within the time established by statute, and if not, whether it would be in the interest of justice to waive the failure to timely file.

	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 the Presidential Unit Citation.  He states that he was wounded shortly after his arrival in Vietnam.  He indicates fighting was going on near his base camp and when he went to see how close the action was he was hit by a piece of shrapnel in the forehead.

PURPOSE:  To determine whether the application was submitted within the time limit established by law, and if not, whether it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

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

He was inducted and entered active duty on 9 October 1967.  Following completion of basic and advanced individual training he was initially assigned to Korea but was transferred to Vietnam in July 1969 where he was assigned to an artillery unit as an armorer.

On 20 June 1969 he was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment and in July 1970 he returned to the United States.

The applicant completed his enlistment contract in New York and on 31 January 1972 was released from active duty.  Neither his DD Form 214 nor his DA Form 20 (enlisted qualification record) reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 40 (wounds) on his DA Form 20 is blank.  The applicant last authenticated his DA Form 20 on 6 December 1971 and his DD Form 214 on the day of his separation.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.

A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) does not indicate that the applicant’s unit (Battery A, 6th Battalion, 44th Artillery) was ever awarded a Presidential Unit Citation during the Vietnam conflict.

Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  Failure to file within 3 years may be excused by a correction board if it finds it would be in the interest of justice to do so.

DISCUSSION:  The alleged error or injustice was, or with reasonable diligence should have been discovered on 31 January 1972, the date he was released from active duty and authenticated his separation document.  The time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 
31 January 1975.

The application is dated 12 January 1998 and the applicant has not explained or otherwise satisfactorily demonstrated by competent evidence that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to apply within the time allotted.

DETERMINATION:  The subject application was not submitted within the time required.  The applicant has not presented and the records do not contain sufficient justification to conclude that it would be in the interest of justice to grant the relief requested or to excuse the failure to file within the time prescribed by law.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ___vbc__  ________  EXCUSE FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__cla___  ________  ___clg__  CONCUR WITH DETERMINATION

		Loren G. Harrell
		Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999021763	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990311	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 107.00		
2.  142.00		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.