MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            12 April 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR200049384

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman 		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:  Award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he believes his records are in error because he was not awarded the Purple Heart for a wound he received “as a result of direct combat with a force of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers about 15 kilometers inside the Cambodian border on 25 May 1969”.  The applicant states that he fell on a knife that he had taken from a dead NVA soldier and the knife cut his leg.  In support of his application, the applicant submits a 21 September 2000 letter from a medical aidman who states that he treated the applicant and a copy of a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care).

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

The applicant entered active duty in February 1966 and completed training as a radio operator.  He served in Vietnam from 11 November 1967 to 16 November 1968.  He completed over 20 years of active Federal service and was separated from active duty effective 31 January 1986 in the rank of master sergeant by reason of voluntary retirement.  He was placed on the Retired List the date following his separation.

There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in his records that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  His 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).  The applicant’s DA Form 20 was authenticated in his own hand in 1973.  The applicant’s name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

The applicant provided a copy of one page a Standard Form 600 which shows the entry “25 May 69 Knife wound Lt. Thigh”, that medication was prescribed and the wound was dressed.  The SF 600 does not indicate where the treatment was rendered, does not indicate the wound was the result of hostile action and does not show the entry was authenticated by a medical doctor.

In a 21 September 2000 letter to the Veterans Service Officer of San Mateo, California, an individual who was a medical specialist and served in the same unit as the applicant in Vietnam stated that he treated the applicant for a puncture wound to the leg on 26 May 1969.  The medical specialist states that he recommended the applicant be seen at the “dispensary at Ban Me Thout, and if necessary then transported to the 155th evacuation facility.”  This fellow soldier stated that he filled out a medical evacuation tag on the applicant and indicated that the injuries were the result of hostile action, but that the medical evacuation tag must have been lost or misplaced.  He also states that “The intensity of the enemy contact associated with his wounding allow me to be able to have detailed recall of the incident.”

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 in the applicant’s service personnel records which shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.

2.  The applicant provided a SF 600 which shows that he sustained a knife wound; however, this form does not show that the wound was the result of hostile action and it is not properly authenticated by proper medical authority.

3.  The Board also noted the medical specialist stated he treated the applicant on 26 May 1969 which is different from the dated on the SF 600 and in the statement by the applicant.  

4.  The Board also noted that the applicant stated that he sustained his injury on 25 May 1969 when he fell on a knife which he had taken from a dead NVA soldier.  The Board also noted that the applicant states several times that he was wounded on 25 May 1969, but concluded his addendum to his application with the statement that he was wounded on 26 May 1969.

5.  Records show that the applicant served on active duty for almost 18 years after the alleged wounding; however, there is no evidence that he filed a claim for award of the Purple Heart during that time.  Additionally, records show that the applicant authenticated his DA Form 20 in 1973 which is over four years after the wounding and yet the record he authenticated clearly shows no entries under item 40 (Wounds) or list the Purple Heart in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).

6.  Based on the foregoing, the Board has determined that, in view of the evidence of record which shows that the applicant was not awarded the Purple Heart and was not wounded as a result of hostile action, the SF 600 and the statement from the fellow soldier submitted by the applicant over 30 years after the fact are not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart.

7.  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.

8.  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

__RWA__  __RTD__  __DPH__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000049384	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010412	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR CHUN	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.