PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           17 July 2003       
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003084889

	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. Joann Langston		Chairperson	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 sustained a shrapnel wound to his left elbow on 18 June 1969 in Vietnam.

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 AR2001055294 by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) on 14 June 2001.

5.  On 31 January 2002, the staff of the ABCMR reviewed a request for reconsideration and determined that the applicant had not provided any new evidence and his request was closed without further action.

6.  The applicant provided page 2 of a Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History), dated 26 November 1969.  Item 33 (Have you ever had any illness or injury other than those already noted?) on this medical form shows the applicant reported that he sustained a shrapnel wound to his left elbow on 18 June 1969 in Vietnam.  Item 39 (Physician's Summary and Elaboration of all Pertinent Data) on this medical form shows the entry "Fragment wound L [left] elbow 1969 in Vietnam." 

7.  The applicant also provided three documents from the Department of Veterans Affairs which are dated 1970.  

8.  The applicant's submissions are new evidence which will be considered by the Board.

9.  In 2001, the applicant provided an eyewitness statement, dated 8 March 2001, from a fellow soldier at the time in question.  This soldier attests that the applicant was wounded from incoming mortar fire in Vietnam in May 1969.  He states that the applicant sustained an injury to his elbow, that the medics were busy and it was getting dark so the applicant cleaned and bandaged the wound himself.  He further states that as an infantryman he has seen and tended enough wounds to know that the applicant had been cut with shrapnel, his cut was singed. 

10.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The statements of individuals are normally inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment.   However, in this case, the provided supporting statement and medical evidence of record are credible evidence that the applicant did in fact receive the wounds claimed and only the exigencies of the battlefield prevented him from being treated by medical personnel.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of his military records to show the award of 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 applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 
18 June 1969.

BOARD VOTE:

JL______  RKS____  JTM____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Joann Langston__________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003084889	
SUFFIX		
RECON	Yes	
DATE BOARDED	20030717	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.