MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            16 March 2000          
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999029222

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Chairperson	
	Mr. Orville W. Troesch, Jr.		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:  That he be awarded the Purple Heart and issued the award citation.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was wounded in combat in Vietnam and never received the Purple Heart to his knowledge.

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

He enlisted in the Regular Army on 3 August 1966, received training as a vehicle operator, served from 4 July 1967 to 27 January 1968 in Vietnam and was honorably separated to the USAR at the completion of his term of service on       1 August 1969 in the grade of private first class.  His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Marksmanship Badge with two rifle bars.

His medical record shows that he was evacuated from Vietnam on or about      15 January 1968 to the Medical Holding Detachment, Camp Zama, Japan with a diagnosis of thrombophlebitis in the right calf.  

He spent 22 days at the US Army Hospital in Japan and was released and returned to duty at Fort Rucker, Alabama with a temporary physical profile.  The record contains no information relating to treatment for wounds received in combat.

His Enlisted Qualification Record contains no entry in the section pertaining to wounds (item 40) received as a result of hostile action.

The applicant’s Report of Medical History (SF Form 89) completed in connection with his separation contains a notation by the examining physician – “shrapnel wound, left leg, RVN 1968 (Jan), Hospital 2 months”.

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, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The applicant has provided no evidence and his records contain no evidence to show that he was wounded in combat and is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

2.  His medical record contains evidence of his evacuation from Vietnam to Japan for medical treatment; however, the treatment was for thrombophlebitis in the right calf not a shrapnel wound to the left leg.  The annotation on his SF Form 89, concerning a shrapnel wound, must have been recorded by the physician based solely on a comment by the applicant.  In the absence of verification of the shrapnel wound elsewhere in the record, the physician’s comment alone is considered insufficient evidence on which to base an award of the Purple Heart, particularly in light of the fact that he was being treated during the same time frame for phlebitis. 

3.  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

__jlp ____  _owt____  _cjp_____  DENY APPLICATION

						Karl F. Schneider
						Director, Army Review Boards Agency

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999029222	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000316	
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.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.