MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            20 July 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999029554

	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	
	Mr. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Ms. Ann M. Campbell		Member	
	Mr. Kenneth L. Wright		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:  Award of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Vietnam.

APPLICANT STATES:  That the fact he was wounded in August 1969 when the North Vietnamese overran his base was never put in his record.

In support of his request, he has provided a copy a DVA Rating Decision dated   4 June 1999 awarding him service connection for a shrapnel wound scar to the upper right arm with an evaluation of 0 percent disability.

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

He was inducted on 3 August 1967 received training as a field artillery crewman and served in Vietnam from 19 December 1967 to 18 December 1968.  He was honorably discharged on 1 August 1969.

His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device.

The applicant’s DD Form 214, Report of Separation, which he authenticated, does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Item 40 (wounds) of his Enlisted Qualification Record contains no entry that he was wounded in action; nor does his Official Military Personnel File contain any reference to his being injured in combat or awarded the Purple Heart.

The DVA Rating Decision indicates that the applicant’s service medical records were reviewed in determining his entitlement to service connection for the shrapnel scar to his upper right arm.  The rating decision indicates that the applicant’s medical records do not show diagnosis of or treatment for a wound to the right upper arm.

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

1.  The applicant has provided no evidence and his record contains no evidence to show that he was wounded in action in Vietnam and is entitled to the Purple Heart.
2.  The evidence submitted by the applicant from the DVA confirms that he has been awarded service connection for the scar to the upper arm that they have attributed to his service.  However, the DVA determination does not establish that the injury was a result of hostile action, a prerequisite for the Purple Heart, and without such a finding there is no basis for this Board to award the Purple Heart.

3.  It is also noted that according to the applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record, he served in Vietnam between December 1967 and December 1968 and was discharged on 1 August 1969.  It does not appear practical therefore that he could have been wounded, as he contends, in August 1969,

4.  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

____sac _  ___amc__  ___klw__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999029554	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	20000720	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.