PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           10 December 2002   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002072211

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		Member	
	Mr. Conrad V. 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 reconsideration of his previous application to correct his military records by awarding him the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he received an award certificate for the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 14 July 1968 in Vietnam.  He contends that the Purple Heart is not shown on his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge).

4.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the Memorandum of Consideration prepared to reflect the Board’s previous consideration of the Docket Number AR2001052397 by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) on 26 April 2001.

5.  With his request for reconsideration, the applicant submitted an award certificate, dated 18 July 1968, for award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action on 14 July 1968 in Vietnam.  This same award certificate was provided with his original application.

6.  This Board noted that the service number shown on the award certificate for the Purple Heart provided by the applicant is not the applicant’s correct service number.

7.  The applicant’s request for reconsideration does not contain new evidence.  However, in reviewing his application, the staff of the ABCMR again searched the Vietnam Casualty Roster using the applicant’s correct service number.  This search revealed that he was, in fact, wounded in action on 4 May 1968.

8.  There is no evidence in the applicant’s service personnel records that he was wounded a second time as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.

9.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

10.  Army Regulation 15-185 sets forth the policy and procedures for the ABCMR. It provides that, if a request for reconsideration is received within one year of the prior consideration and the case has not been previously reconsidered, it will be resubmitted to the Board if there is evidence that was not in the record at the time of the Board’s prior consideration.  This includes but is not limited to any facts or arguments as to why relief should be granted.  The staff of the Board is authorized to determine whether or not such evidence has been submitted.

11.  The regulation provides further guidance for reconsideration requests that are received more than one year after the Board’s original consideration or after the Board has already reconsidered the case.  In such cases, the staff of the Board will review the request to determine if substantial relevant evidence has been submitted that shows fraud, mistake in law, mathematical miscalculation, manifest error, or if there exists substantial relevant new evidence discovered contemporaneously with or within a short time after the Board’s original decision. If the staff finds such evidence, the case will be resubmitted to the Board.  If no such evidence is found, the application will be returned without action.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted denial of the Purple Heart by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR2001052397, dated 26 April 2001.  

2.  This Board noted the award certificate originally provided by the applicant  which shows he received the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 
14 July 1968 in Vietnam.  This Board also noted that the applicant’s correct service number is not shown on this award certificate.  

3.  Therefore, this Board concluded that the lack of evidence supporting the applicant’s claim to award of the Purple Heart could have resulted from an incorrect service number on the award certificate provided by the applicant.  

4.  Based on the foregoing, this Board determined that the award certificate was not then and is not now sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart in this case.

5.  This Board noted that contrary to the decision by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR2001052397, dated 26 April 2001, the Vietnam Casualty Roster does in fact show that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam on 4 May 1968.  

6.  Based on all of the foregoing, the Board determined: 

a.  The Vietnam Casualty Roster confirms the applicant was wounded in action on 4 May 1968, not on 14 July 1968.  

b.  There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded more than once during his service in Vietnam.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to only one award of the Purple Heart.  

c.  The applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam on 4 May 1968 and correction of his military records to show that he was wounded in action in Vietnam on 4 May 1968.  
7.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 4 May 1968 in Vietnam.

2.  That so much of the applicant as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:

CLA___  TSK_____  CVM_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Celia L. Adolphi____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002072211	
SUFFIX		
RECON	Yes	
DATE BOARDED	20021210	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES          1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.