PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            15 March 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999030612

	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. Joseph A. Adriance 		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		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, in effect, that his Purple Heart (PH) be added to his records.  

3.  The applicant’s military records show that on 4 September 1968 he entered the Regular Army for 2 years.  He completed basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and advanced individual training (AIT) at Fort Polk, Louisiana.  Upon completion of AIT the applicant was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Infantryman) and was assigned to overseas combat duty in Vietnam for his first permanent duty station.

4.  On 27 March 1969, while serving in Vietnam, the applicant sustained multiple fragment wounds to both legs and the left arm as a result of a booby trap explosion.  The record contains a Department of the Army (DA) Form 8-275-2 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet).  This form indicates that the applicant was admitted to the 3rd Field Hospital APO 96307 on 27 March 1969 and that he was awarded the PH by that organization, via General Order (GO) Number (#) 89, issued on 28 March 1969.

5.  He was transferred to the United States Army Hospital in Okinawa on 
30 March 1969 and was air evacuated to Walter Reed Army Hospital where he arrived on 11 May 1969.  

6.  The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) does not contain a copy of GO # 89, which awarded the applicant the PH and his DA Form 20 (Qualification Record) also contains no reference to either the applicant’s wounds or the PH.  

7.  Over the remainder of his service the applicant accrued 142 days of time lost due to AWOL and confinement, which adjusted his expiration of term of service (ETS) date to 30 January 1971.  On this date he was released from active duty with an under honorable conditions characterization of service after completing 
2 years of active military service.

8.  The applicant was issued a DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) on the date of his discharge.  Block 24 of that form (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) shows that he earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Rifle Marksman Badge during his tenure in service.  However, it does not indicate that he received the  PH.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 (Purple Heart) indicates that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force of the United States who has been wounded in any action against an enemy of the United States.

10.  Paragraph 2-8 b (2) states that a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above.  A physical lesion is not required, however, the wound for which the award is made 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.  

11.  Paragraph 2-8 b (3) states that when contemplating an award of the PH, 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. 

12.  Finally, Paragraph 2-8 b (4) specifically cites an injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap as an example of an enemy-related injury which clearly justifies the award of the Purple Heart.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  After carefully examining the evidence of record, it is clear that the applicant earned and was awarded the PH based on the injuries he sustained on 27 March 1969 from an enemy placed trap.  Therefore, in the interest of justice, the Board concludes that the PH should be added to the applicant’s record and to his DD Form 214.

2.  The Board found it likely that the award was erroneously omitted from the applicant’s service record as a result of his medical evacuation and determined it would be appropriate to correct this error 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 showing that the individual concerned was awarded the PH as a result of wounds received on 27 March 1969. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___mkp__  __rvo ___  __vbc___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999030612	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/03/DD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	N/A	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.