PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            10 July 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003085090

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson	
	Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in action in Vietnam on 10 December 1968 and was not awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds.  In support of his application he submits a copy of the order that awarded him the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) with "V" Device and which indicates that he was wounded and medically evacuated.  

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 28 February 1969, the applicant was awarded the BSM with "V" Device for heroism in connection with ground operations against a hostile force in Vietnam on 10 December 1968.  He was serving as a special forces sergeant first class at the time and the citation for the BSM indicates that the applicant received serious wounds during the assault and that he called in his own medical evacuation.

5.  A review of the available records fails to show that he was ever awarded the Purple Heart for those wounds.

6.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty in the pay grade of    E-7 on 30 September 1974 and was transferred to the Retired list effective 1 October 1974.

7.  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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant's medical records are not available for review by the Board, the Board finds that the orders which awarded him the BSM with "V" device adequately substantiates that the applicant was wounded in action on 10 December 1968 and that he was medically evacuated for treatment.

2.  Accordingly, the Board finds that it would be in the interest of justice to award him the Purple Heart to which he is entitled at this time.

3.  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 received in action in Vietnam on 10 December 1968, while serving in the rank of sergeant first class.

BOARD VOTE:  

__be ____  __lb ____  ___ra___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____Roger W. Able_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003085090	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2003/07/10	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/PH	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.