PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            25 September 2001 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001061505

	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	
	Mr. Gerald E. Vandenberg		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Lester Echols		Member	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		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 Report of Separation or Discharge (DD Form 214) be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he sustained a head wound while in combat in Vietnam and that the evidence he is submitting shows that he is entitled to the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant’s previous request (AR2001051919, dated 5 January 2001) to correct his records was administratively closed (16 April 2001) due to an inability to locate any of the applicant’s military records.  

5.  The applicant again submits a copy of his original request which included the back page of his DD Form 214 and a 10 January 1992 Authorization for issuance of Awards (DD Form 1577) showing the Purple Heart as one of his authorized awards.  In addition to the documents previously submitted, the applicant submits, from a secondary source of records, a copy of an 18 April 1968 letter from the Chief of Neurosurgery, Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to the Selective Service System Local Board # 77, Yauco, Puerto Rico.  This letter states that the applicant sustained a head injury as a result of hostile action in Vietnam on 1 February 1968.  It further states that the applicant was found medically unfit for duty and was being processed for a medical retirement as of that date.

6. 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. 
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant clearly sustained a wound as a result of hostile action on 1 February 1968, this wound required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment is considered to be a matter of official record.

2.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below would correct an error and rectify an injustice.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected to show that the individual concerned is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action on 1 February 1968. 

BOARD VOTE:  

_JNS____  __LE___  __REB__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____John N. Slone_
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001061505	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010925	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	GD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.