PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            17 October 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000039490

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Me. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Ms. Linda D. Simmons		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, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in combat on 28 March 1969 and should have been awarded the PH.  His separation documents do not indicate that he received the PH and he provides a copy of a Department of Defense (DD) Form 1380 (U.S. Field Medical Card) in support of his request to prove that he was indeed wounded.  

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 29 November 1967, he was inducted into the Army of the United States for two years.  He successfully completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and advanced individual training (AIT) at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  Upon completion of AIT, he was awarded military occupational specialty 11E (Tank Gunner) and he was assigned to overseas combat duty in Vietnam for his first permanent duty station. 

5.  On 31 October 1968, the applicant arrived in Vietnam and he was assigned to Troop C, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division for duty.  His Department of the Army (DA) Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows that he served in Vietnam until 25 October 1969 when he was returned to Oakland, California for separation processing.  

6.  The evidence of record includes a DD Form 1380 (Field Medical Card), dated 28 March 1969.  This document confirms that the applicant was treated for multiple superficial fragment wounds to his back, both arms, and his hip and that he received those wounds when his night defensive position came under mortar attack from a hostile enemy force at 0230 hours on 28 March 1969.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 (Purple Heart) contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of an Armed Force or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed in action.  

8.  The awards regulation further states that a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under the conditions defined by this regulation.  In order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer.  This treatment must be supported by records of medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  By regulation, in order to award the PH, it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer.  The treatment for the wound or injury received in action must be supported by a record of medical treatment that was made a matter of official record.  The Board finds that the DD Form 1380 (U.S. Field Medical Card), contained in the evidence of record, satisfies this regulatory burden of proof.

2.  Based on the weight of the medical evidence, it is clear that the applicant was wounded while engaged in an action against an enemy force in Vietnam on 
28 March 1969, which clearly entitles him to be awarded the PH.  Therefore, the Board concludes, in the interest of justice and equity, that it would be appropriate to award the applicant the PH and add it to his separation documents at this time.

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 awarding the individual concerned the PH for wounds he received in action against a hostile force in Vietnam on 28 March 1969.

BOARD VOTE:  

__lds____  __rvo ___  __be____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000039490	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/10/17	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1969/10/28	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200	
DISCHARGE REASON	Overseas Returnee	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.