MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           16 August 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001054760

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		                          Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas F. Baxter		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 his records be corrected to show that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Purple Heart (PH).

APPLICANT STATES:  He was an infantryman serving in Vietnam which qualifies him for the CIB.  As for the PH, he submits a statement from the Office of the Adjutant General dated 21 October 1969 which says that the applicant is entitled to the PH for wounds he received in action in Vietnam on 26 May 1968.

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

He was inducted on active duty on 6 October 1966, was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) of Infantryman, and was promoted to pay grade 
E-5.

He served in Vietnam as an infantryman in an infantry company from 1 September 1967 to 31 August 1968.  He was awarded the CIB on Special Orders Number 303 dated 30 October 1967.  On 26 May 1968 the applicant’s duty status changed to patient, a status he retained until he was returned to his unit on 21 June 1968.

On 30 August 1968 the applicant was given a separation physical examination.  In that examination the applicant denied ever having been injured or hospitalized. 

On 30 August 1968 the applicant was honorably released from active duty.  His separation document shows he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 Device, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.  He was also awarded the Marksmanship Badge with rifles bar.

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.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  While the applicant was hospitalized in Vietnam, there is no indication in the record why he was hospitalized.

2.  The applicant has submitted a statement from The Adjutant General of the Army.  However, the statement is not signed or otherwise authenticated.  Without a signed version of this statement and the documentation it was based upon, it cannot be accepted as verification of entitlement to award of the PH.

3.  Further, the applicant denied ever being injured or hospitalized during his separation physical examination.

4.  As for the CIB, the applicant has already been awarded this badge.  The addition of it on his DD Form 214 is administrative and does not require the authority of the Board to accomplish.

5.  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.

NOTE:  The Army Review Boards Agency Support Division, St. Louis, will be requested to issue the applicant a DD Form 215 adding his CIB.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jh  ___  ___tfb___  ____jtm__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001054760	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010816	
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.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.