PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            15 February 2001  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000049795

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		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 that his records be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant entered active duty on 
7 August 1969 and was assigned to Vietnam in January 1970.  According to a U.S. Army Vietnam Casualty Report on 8 May 1970 the applicant sustained second degree burns to his hand, elbow and head when he was "mistaken for hostile" and hit by "gunship fire and white phos."  Unit staff journals recorded the incident as "WIA" (wounded in action) and item 40 (wounds) on his DA Form 20 (enlisted qualification record) confirms the injury.  There is, however, no indication the applicant was ever awarded the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant returned to the United States in December 1971 and on 
6 August 1971 was honorably discharged.  His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

5.  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.

6.  Included as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1994 was an amendment to the rules governing award of the Purple Heart.  While the original rules established that the Purple Heart would be awarded to individuals killed or wounded as a result of hostile action the amendment enabled the Secretaries of each department to award the Purple Heart to members of the armed forces who were killed or wounded in action by weapon fire, while directly engaged in armed conflict, other than as the result of an act of an enemy of the United States.  This ruling, in effect, granted the service Secretaries the authority to award the Purple Heart to individuals directly engaged in armed conflict who were killed or wounded as a result of "friendly fire."

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence clearly indicates that the applicant was wounded as a result of "friendly fire" and as such should be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  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 Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 
8 May 1970.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fne__  __mkp___  ___mhm__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000049795	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010215	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	Grant	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.