MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            15 June 2000                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000037501

	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. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Orville W. Troesch, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		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:  Reconsideration of his previous request to correct his records by showing, in effect, that he should be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in Vietnam. 

APPLICANT STATES:  That while on patrol in Vietnam he stepped into a hole that contained a pungi stake (a pungi stake is normally a sharpened stick, covered with feces, and then concealed in a hole).  The pungi stake tore through his boot and into his foot.  He has been receiving treatment for that injury for decades and the Department of Veterans Affairs currently recognizes the wound as service-connected.

NEW EVIDENCE OR INFORMATION: Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in a memorandum prepared to reflect the Board’s original consideration of his case on 21 July 1999 (COPY ATTACHED).

The applicant submitted extracts of his military medical records showing treatment from August 1968 to July 1974.  An entry dated 8 April 1969 reads “enlisted man complains of soreness and tenderness over right metatarsal, approximately one week ago, enlisted man stepped into a hole and injured foot.  Noted Swelling.  Could you please x-ray and evaluate.”

Copies of extracts from his post military medical records reflect the extensive treatment given to the applicant’s right foot and other physical and mental conditions after his separation from the Regular Army.

An untitled form, that is most likely from the Department of Veterans Affairs, contains the entry; Disabilities:  Paralysis of Median nerve (30%)(SC), Post-Traumatic Stress –30% (SC), Degenerative Arthritis-20% (SC), Degenerative Arthritis-10% (SC), Residuals of foot injury- (10%) (SC), Conjunctivitis-10% (SC) 

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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

Title 38, United States Code, permits the Department of Veterans Affairs to award compensation for a medical condition which was incurred in or aggravated by active military service.  The Department of Veterans Affairs, in accordance with its own policies and regulations, awards compensation solely on the basis that a medical condition exists and that said medical condition reduces or impairs the social or industrial adaptability of the individual concerned.  The Department of Veterans Affairs determination does not establish that a medical condition entitles a member to a military award.
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 8 April 1969 medical entry indicates the applicant complained of an injury to his right foot.  There is no mention of how the injury occurred.  There is no record of treatment given by the medic present at the time of the injury, nor is there any record of treatment to prevent infection that would normally accompany such an injury.  In this case, the records available reflect only that the applicant injured his foot after stepping into a hole.  In the absence of any other corroborating evidence that show he was injured as a result of hostile action, these medical documents are not sufficient as the basis for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant’s leaders who had first-hand knowledge of the events resulting in his injury made the decision not to award him the Purple Heart, as it is not reflected in his records.

3.  The applicant hindered his claim by waiting almost 30 years to request the award.  The unknown whereabouts and passing of his former leaders, eye- witnesses, and the difficulty of finding records prevents the verification of the applicant’s scenario of events, and therefore his request must be denied.

4.  The fact that the Department of Veterans Affairs, in its discretion, has awarded the applicant a disability rating is a prerogative exercised within the policies of that agency.  It does not, in itself, establish that his injury was the result of hostile action or imply that he is entitled to the Purple Heart.

5.  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.

6.  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

__owt___  __kan___  ___mvt __  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037501	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000615	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.