MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:    

	BOARD DATE:            24 February 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999030486

	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.

	Ms. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Mr. James P. Huber		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was never awarded the PH for the injuries he received while he was in Vietnam.  He states that he was riding on top of an armored personnel carrier when the whole squad hit a large mine that had been set by the North Vietnamese Army.  He states that he was blown twenty to thirty feet in the air and when he hit the ground, he felt severe pain in his right eardrum and his left shoulder was also injured.  He further states that he was evacuated to a field hospital and he was told that his right eardrum was completely perforated.  In support of his appeal he submits two medical documents from the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Vietnam that show that he sustained an ear injury in October 1968, a copy of a letter from the US Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) dated 8 July 1999 addressed to Senator Mikulski informing her that he is not authorized the award of the PH as his injury was considered to be accidental in nature and a statement from his daughter dated 1 August 1999 disputing the PERSCOM’s decision not to award him the PH.

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

He was inducted in the Army on 4 January 1968 and he successfully completed his training as a light weapons infantryman.

The available medical records show that on 16 October 1968, the applicant was treated by an Army physician at the 12th Evacuation Hospital for an infected ear. However, the records fail to show that he was wounded or injured as a direct result of enemy action.

He was honorably released from active duty on 19 December 1969 at the expiration of his term of service and he was transferred to the USAR Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his USAR obligation.  On 1 January 1974, he was honorably discharged from the USAR.

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 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.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  The Board has noted the applicant’s contentions.  However, they are not substantiated by the evidence of record.  There is no evidence of record to support his contention that he hit a mine, which had been set by the North Vietnamese or that he sustained a wound or injury that was the direct result of hostile action by the enemy.

3.  The records show while he was on active duty he was treated for an infected ear and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be presumed that what the Army did in his case was correct.

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

CLA_____  MVT____  JPH____  DENY APPLICATION

						Karl F. Schneider
				     Director, Army Review Boards Agency

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999030486	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000224	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46		
2.  61		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.