MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:         

	BOARD DATE:              1 August 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:      AR2000035251

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Deborah S. Jacobs		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Member	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		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 his military records be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he received wounds on two separate occasions in  Vietnam.  He recounts that the medical treatment never reached his medical records, and that the wounds were not serious enough for him to be medically evacuated.  He also states that the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) in 1993 verified that he had shell fragment wounds.  Lastly, he states that after arriving from Vietnam for out processing he was told if there were any problems he would be held over and he just wanted to go home.  The Board will presume the applicant is offering the last statement to explain why he did not inquire about the Purple Heart award at the time of separation.

The applicant submitted no sworn affidavits, eyewitness statements, certificates, orders, corroborating statements from commanders, leaders, fellow comrades or health care personnel who had personal knowledge of the circumstances and events relative to this request.

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

He entered active duty on 7 September 1965 and served in Vietnam for 11 months and 26 days, and on 27 July 1968, was separated with an honorable discharge.

The applicant’s separation document (DD Form 214) which was authenticated in his own hand at the time of his separation, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records, which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

The applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show any entry in item 40 (Wounds) or list the Purple Heart in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).

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.

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, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant stated that in 1993 the DVA verified that he sustained shrapnel wounds.  However, a DVA determination does not establish that injuries are the result of hostile action, a prerequisite for the Purple Heart.  Without such a finding there is no basis for this Board to award the Purple Heart.

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 this 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

___dsj_____  ____kak  ____ewl   DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000035251	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000801	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION		
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.