MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

		IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:           6 November 2003                   
		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003090312

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Ms. Mae M. Bulloci		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 DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to add the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That his company had the duty of late evening patrol which meant leaving Camp Bearcat and entering the jungle for several days of patrol outside the camp area.  It was their responsibility to clear the area of the Viet Cong between where they were dropped off and their return to camp.  On one of those patrols, his squad became separated from the main company because they had been chasing the Viet Cong.  While in pursuit of them, he stepped in a large hole about as deep as his knee.  His knee immediately began to swell but because he did not want to be separated from his company he tried walking on it.  The pain was so intense he could not carry his machine gun.  A friend took his field pack.  His squad walked all night trying to avoid the Viet Cong to reach camp early the next morning.

The applicant states that he was immediately sent to the clinic at Camp Bearcat where he was placed in a holding area and then taken by jeep to an Army hospital.  His left knee swelled up to three or four times larger than his right knee. He stayed at the hospital for three days waiting for a plane to take him to Japan. On the way to Japan, they stopped at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines to pick up some other men.  One of those men was a Marine colonel.  The applicant heard his name being called out and the colonel handed him a Purple Heart, shook his hand, and then called out another name.  He asked a corporal standing next to his stretcher to place his Purple Heart in his (the applicant's) bag.  That was the last he saw of it.  Following surgery in Japan, he was told he could not return to combat so he was assigned to Korea to finish his overseas tour.  During his time in Korea, he pursued the search for his Purple Heart and the corporal that had taken it but to no avail.  

As supporting evidence, the applicant provides a letter dated 14 February 2003 from his Congressman.  The letter verified that the applicant picked up a Purple Heart Medal from the Congressman's office on or about 22 July 2002.  The Congressman's office assisted him in obtaining the medal from the National Personnel Records Center.  

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

He was inducted into the Army on 17 May 1966.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

The applicant arrived in Vietnam apparently with his unit, Company B, 2d Battalion, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division from Fort Riley, KS, on or about     21 December 1966.  

Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was assigned to Patient Casual Detachment on  5 March 1967 and assigned to the 121st Evacuation Hospital, Korea on 29 May 1967.  Item 40 (Wounds) is blank.

The applicant was released from active duty on 17 February 1968.  The Purple Heart is not listed on his DD Form 214.

The applicant is not listed on the Republic of Vietnam Casualty Roster.

The historical files of Company B, 2d Battalion, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division; the Medical Holding Detachment, U. S. Army Hospital, Camp Zama, Japan; the 121st Evacuation Hospital, Korea, and the hospital at Clark Air force Base were reviewed at the National Archives in College Park, MD.  The review failed to produce copies of general orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

In response to an inquiry from the applicant, the National Personnel Records Center informed him by letter dated 27 November 2002 that they were unable to verify his entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  In pertinent part, it states that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.  When contemplating an award of the Purple Heart, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.

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

1.  The circumstances surrounding the applicant's injury do not appear to meet the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple Heart.  Although he was participating in direct combat operations, there is no evidence that the enemy caused the injury.  

2.  It is noted that the office of the applicant's Congressman stated that someone at the National Personnel Records Center sent the applicant a Purple Heart Medal.  However, there is no evidence to show on what basis they determined he was eligible for the Purple Heart.  In the absence of evidence showing his injury was caused more directly by the enemy, there is an insufficient basis on which to show he is eligible for the medal.

3.  Regrettably, 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.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__sk____  __rjw___  __mmb___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090312	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20031106	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Chun	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.