MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           8 February 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000047813

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. JoAnn H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman		Member	
	Mr. George D. Paxson		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.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was told he would be awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded at Tuy Hoa, Vietnam in October 1966.  

In support of his request, he submits a copy of his DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge; a copy of a page from his service medical record showing that he received medical treatment for a wound on 17 October 1966 and a copy of a letter from his doctor showing that he currently has Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for which he is seeking service connection from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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

He was inducted on 1 December 1965 and served as a rifleman with the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam from September 1966 to September 1967.  He was honorably separated and transferred to the US Army Reserve on 5 September 1967 in the grade of specialist.

Awards reflected on his DD Form 214 include the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar and the Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar.  The Purple Heart is not listed as an authorized award.

Block 40 (Wounds) of his Enlisted Qualification Record (EQR) does not show that he suffered any wounds as a result of enemy action, nor does block 41 (Awards and Decorations) show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

The extract from his service medical records shows that on 17 October 1966 he was treated for an infected wound on the left shin.  The wound was cleansed and he was returned to duty.  The entry in the record does not further describe the circumstances of the wound. 

Army Regulation 600-200, Preparation and Maintenance of Enlisted Qualification Record, provides in pertinent part, that block 40 of the EQR will contain a brief description of wounds or injuries requiring medical treatment, received through hostile or enemy action.  The date wounded or injured will also be entered.  Block 41 will contain a list of all of the awards and decoration to which the individual is entitled.

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 “wound” referred to in his service medical record describes treatment for an infection to the skin of his left shin but does not indicate that the injury was a result of enemy action.

2.  Absent substantiating information elsewhere in his records showing that he was wounded as a direct result of combat with the enemy, it must be concluded that his injury does not meet the standard for award of 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 satisfies 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

__jhl ____  ___dph __  ___gdp__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000047813	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010208	
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.