MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            10 February 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999027719

	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.Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		Chairperson	
	Mr. James P. Steuve		Member	
	Mr. Kenneth L. Wright		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
	            )

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That he be awarded the Purple Heart for injuries suffered in combat.

APPLICANT STATES:  That his right ear was damaged and his left ear ruptured by enemy shellfire in Vietnam on 27 February 1968.

The applicant submitted a letter from The Chief of Military History and the Center of Military History, Washington, DC.  The letter, addressed to the applicant, informs him that the historian was able to locate a message between two general officers on 29 February 1968.  The message stated that the 8th Radio Research Unit at Phu Bai, had, since 31 January 1968, been hit with a total of 25, 122mm rockets, which landed inside the compound.  The message also mentions the number of men wounded and the destruction caused by the rockets.  It is presumed the applicant is alleging that he was assigned to the 8th Radio Research Unit at the time and that is where his injuries occurred.

The applicant also submitted the result of his appeal to The Department of Veterans Affairs.  The applicant was found to have service connection for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for tinnitus and 100 percent schedular rating for PTSD.

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

He enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 November 1964 and was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) of light weapons infantryman.  He served a tour of duty at Fort Jackson, SC.  He then was awarded the MOS of card and tape writer and finally the MOS of radio traffic analyst.  He served in Vietnam as a radio traffic analyst from 28 January 1968 to approximately 18 September 1968.  Following completion of his Vietnam tour, he was separated from service on 20 September 1968 with an honorable discharge in pay grade E5.

His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

The available records contain no information showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds received as a result of enemy action.

The VA appeal documents indicates the applicant’s medical records show that he had normal hearing in his right and left ears in 1964 when inducted.  A hearing examination was not conducted in September 1968 for separation from the military, and he the applicant had no complaints concerning his hearing acuity. 

Title 38, United States Code, sections 310 and 331, permits the VA to award compensation for a medical condition which was incurred in or aggravated by active military service.  The VA, however, is not required by law to determine medical unfitness for further military service.  The VA, in accordance with its own policies and regulations, awards compensation solely on the basis that a medical condition exists and that said medical condition reduces or impairs the social or industrial adaptability of the individual concerned.  Consequently, due to the two concepts involved, an individual's medical condition, although not considered medically unfitting for military service at the time of processing for separation, discharge or retirement, may be sufficient to qualify the individual for VA benefits based on an evaluation by that agency.

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.

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

1.  The applicant’s records contain no medical evidence and he has submitted no evidence to show that enemy shelling ruptured his ears.  Considering the applicant’s MOS and the importance of hearing to analyzing radio transmissions, it would appear that a ruptured ear would have demanded medical treatment.  However, as noted above, the record contains no evidence of such treatment.  It is also noted that the VA document he submitted mentions that he had no complaint concerning his hearing acuity when he was discharged. 

2.  Without supporting medical evidence or eyewitness statements, there is no basis to award him the Purple Heart.

3.  The Board also notes that the VA awarded the applicant a disability rating some 31 years after his discharge.  That rating is entirely too far removed from the applicant’s discharge for the Board to assume that he was physically unfit at the time of his discharge.

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

_vbc_____  _jps____  _klw ____  DENY APPLICATION

			Karl F. Schneider
Director, Army Review Boards Agency

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999027719	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000210	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.15	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.