RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  27 MARCH 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060012911 


	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.  



	The Board considered the following evidence: 

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion, if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he was blown out of a jeep while in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), Medical Evaluation Board Proceedings (MEB), and Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Examination. 

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records show the applicant was appointed as a Reserve Officer in the United States Army on 17 March 1965 and entered active duty on 2 July 1965.  He served in the Republic of Vietnam from 14 February 1968 through 4 August 1968 as a dental officer.  The applicant was retired and placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) on 27 September 1989.  The applicant was removed from the TDRL on 21 August 1991 and permanently retired.

2.  The MEB proceedings show that the applicant was evaluated on 7 June 1989 at Fort Gordon, Georgia, for severe traumatic destruction of left shoulder joint, chronic low back pain, bilateral tarsal tunnel, hiatal hernia, history of ototoxicity and gout.  The board referred the applicant to a Physical Evaluation Board.

3.  The VA Examination for Rating Purposes, dated 2 April 1990, show that the applicant requested an evaluation for service connected disability.  A summary of the applicant’s medical history stated that in 1968 the applicant was blown out of a jeep while on active duty and sustained injury to his lower back.  The applicant’s lower back was treated conservatively at the time, and the lower back problem has continued to bother him.  

4.  Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.  The applicant's military service records do not contain any general orders awarding him the Purple Heart.  The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

5.  There is no documentation in the available records which shows that the applicant sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.  

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

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The fact that the applicant provided documentation from his VA examination that states that he was blown from a jeep in 1968 is not sufficient evidence to conclude that he is entitled to the award of the Purple Heart.  The VA examination does not prove that his wounding was the result of hostile action.

2.  There are no medical records available which show the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam.  The MEB and VA examination, in the absence of supporting medical evidence, is not sufficient evidence to justify the award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, in the absence of medical records supporting the applicant's contention, there is an insufficient basis for award of the Purple Heart in this case. 

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___KW __  __CD___  __EF____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



_____ Kenneth Wright________
          CHAIRPERSON


INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060012911
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070327
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.00
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.