PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            20 January 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999024705

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Robert G. Hinkle		Chairperson	
	Mr. Gary F. Geraets		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		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.

3.  The applicant states he was injured during an attack by a sniper in Vietnam in 1969 and sent to the 36th Evacuation Hospital for treatment.  In support of his request, he has provided statement from two soldiers who were with him at the time of his injury, a copy of the Record of Medical Care form from his Health Record showing that he was treated for a back injury on 31 March 1969 in the 36th Evacuation Hospital.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 23 August 1967.  He received training as a carpenter and served 12 months in Germany prior to being assigned to Vietnam.  He served in Vietnam with the 553d Engineer Company from February 1969 to March 1970.  Upon his return to the states, he was honorably separated to the USAR in the grade specialist four.

5.  His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

6.  The first of the two eyewitness statements provided in support of the Purple Heart indicates that the witness served with the applicant and recalled that he (the applicant) injured his back during a sniper attack on the barge on which they were working at the time.  He further states that the applicant was taken to the 36th Evacuation Hospital for treatment of his back injury.  The second witness statement reiterates the events described by the first witness, that the applicant injured his back when they were fired upon by a sniper and was subsequently treated at the 36th Evacuation Hospital.

7.  The Record of Medical Treatment is dated 31 March 1969 and describes that the applicant was seen at the 36th Evacuation Hospital for low back pain after carrying a heavy load.  It provides no other details concerning the circumstances of the injury.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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.  When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for the award.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the medical record of the applicant’s injury does not establish that it was the result of enemy action, it does substantiate that he was treated for a back injury on that date in Vietnam.

2.  The witness statements, although less detailed than desired, nevertheless, confirm the injury and state that it was the result of sniper fire.  In light of that evidence, the statements and the medical record establishes that the applicant’s injury probably resulted from hostile action while in Vietnam and he is entitled to the Purple Heart for that injury.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

	a.  showing that the individual concerned was injured on 31 March 1969 as a result of hostile action in Vietnam and is entitled to the Purple Heart; and

	b.  correcting his DD Form 214 to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:  

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_rgh_____  _gfg____  __bje____  DENY APPLICATION

		_____Robert G. Hinkle_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999024705	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2000/01/20	
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.