PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:             27 June 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999031076

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in Vietnam by shrapnel, which is still in his left elbow.  In support of his request, he has provided a copy of his    DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge, and an extract from his medical records showing that he was treated for a shrapnel wound to the left elbow in Vietnam on 30 September 1971.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he entered active duty on 26 May 1970, received training as a light weapons infantryman – MOS 11B, served         9 months and 19 days with the 196th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam as a ground sensor operator and was honorably separated to the USAR on 18 May 1972 in the grade of sergeant.

5.  His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 Device, the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  The extract from his record of medical care shows that he was treated on     30 September 1971 for a fragment wound in the area of the left elbow.  The entry details the treatment for the wound but does not describe the circumstances of how it was sustained.  The original document concerning his treatment for the shrapnel wound is in his medical records. 

7.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record contains no references to his being wounded, receiving medical treatment or being awarded the Purple Heart.

8.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The record shows that the applicant was treated for a shrapnel wound to the left elbow in Vietnam on 30 September 1971.  It doesn’t show that the wound was a result of hostile action.

2.  Nonetheless, considering that he was an infantryman assigned to an infantry unit and awarded the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman Badge, this Board is inclined to accept that his shrapnel wound was probably the result of enemy action and that he is entitled to the Purple Heart because of it.

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:

	a.  showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Vietnam on 30 September 1971; and

	b.  issuing him a correction to his DD Form 214 reflecting the aforementioned award.

BOARD VOTE:  

___mdm_  __wtm__  ___clg___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Mark D. Manning______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999031076	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000627	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.