PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  14 July 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR1999017031

	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. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Ms. Rosa M. Chandler		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher		Member	
	Mr. John Saputo		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 correction of his military records to show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he has provided a photocopy of the Purple Heart Certificate that he was awarded on 10 January 1968.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 25 August 1966, he completed basic and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Indirect Fire Crewman).  He served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 4 February 1967 through 
7 February 1968. 

5.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  

6.  The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), Item 
40 (wounds), shows that he received a gun shot wound to the right leg and a fragment wound to the left leg during combat operations on 7 January 1968. 

7.  The applicant provided a photocopy of an award certificate that shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the RVN on 7 January 1968.  This document is authenticated by a Naval Medical Officer.

8.  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.  Sustaining evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  His personal qualification records show that he was wounded in action in both the right and left leg on 7 January 1968.  However, there is no documentation to show that he received medical treatment for his wounds.

2.  The applicant has provided a certificate showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received on 7 January 1968, authenticated by a Naval Medical Officer.

3.  Therefore, the Board concluded that he is entitled to correction of his records to show this award, as an exception to policy.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as an exception to policy 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 Purple Heart for combat injuries received on 7 January 1968, while serving in the RVN, as an exception to policy.

BOARD VOTE:  

SAC____  EW_____  JS______  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  _______  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999017031	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19990715	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19690822	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR635-200  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Expiration Term of Service	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	A92.04	
2.	A92.08	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.