MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            7 November 2000   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000045643

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. George d. Paxson		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Ms. Paula Mokulis		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 the application was filed within the time established by statute, and if not, whether it would be in the interest of justice to waive the failure to timely file.

	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:  Award of the Purple Heart.  He states he was "wounded in the central highland in Vietnam" between 5 June 1968 and 4 June 1969.  He notes that a piece of "mortar shrapnel" was removed from his upper right thigh.  He states that at the time of the injury he was "not sent back from [the] field" but that after sometime the area became infected and he was then sent for treatment.  He notes that he needs the Purple Heart for "hospital VA benefits and [a] postal office service job appointment."  The applicant submits no evidence in support of his request.

PURPOSE:  To determine whether the application was submitted within the time limit established by law, and if not, whether it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

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

He entered active duty on 15 November 1967 and was assigned to Vietnam as an infantryman between June 1968 and June 1969.  While in Vietnam the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, an Air Medal, a Bronze Star Medal and an Army Commendation Medal.  All of those awards are confirmed in orders contained in the applicant's file.

Following the applicant's tour of duty in Vietnam he was assigned to Fort Huachuca, Arizona and in April 1970 was reassigned to Germany.  He was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment on 11 August 1970.  His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), which he authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

The applicant remained on active duty until 20 August 1974.  Although his 1974 DD Form 214 reflects awards from his initial period of active duty it again does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.  Item 40 (wounds) on his DA Form 20 (enlisted qualification record), which he last authenticated in 1973, is blank.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.  There is no evidence, and the applicant has not provided any which confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action while in Vietnam.

Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  Failure to file within 3 years may be excused by a correction board if it finds it would be in the interest of justice to do so.

DISCUSSION:  The alleged error or injustice was, or with reasonable diligence should have been discovered on 20 August 1974, the date the applicant was released from active duty.  The time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 20 August 1977.

The application is dated 16 July 2000 and the applicant has not explained or otherwise satisfactorily demonstrated by competent evidence that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to apply within the time allotted.

DETERMINATION:  The subject application was not submitted within the time required.  The applicant has not presented and the records do not contain sufficient justification to conclude that it would be in the interest of justice to grant the relief requested or to excuse the failure to file within the time prescribed by law.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  EXCUSE FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___gdp__  ____mhm_  ___pm___  CONCUR WITH DETERMINATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000045643	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001107	
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.	142.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.