MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           05 FEBRUARY 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001064767

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar 		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Member	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		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:  Award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  He was wounded in combat and should have been awarded the Purple Heart.  In support of his request he submits a statement, authored in April 2001, from an individual who stated he had served with the applicant as a member of Company D, 3rd Battalion, 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, between January 1968 and January 1969.  The former company member indicated that he could "recall" the applicant "receiving a sever [sic] cut under his lower lip as well as damage to his lower front teeth, when we were under mortar attack."  He notes the applicant's injuries were severe enough to warrant treatment at the base camp, and that when the applicant returned, the author of the statement could "remember him showing me [the author] the two silver caps required to repair his teeth and [the] scar that was forming under his lip, as a result of the injury."

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

He entered active duty in July 1967 and was assigned to Vietnam as an infantryman in January 1968.  According to information contained in his official military personnel file, the applicant was initially assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry, part of the 4th Infantry Division, and was reassigned to Company D of the 3rd Battalion in April 1968.  He remained with Company D until he was reassigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, in August 1968.  In January 1969 the applicant departed Vietnam after being awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, and an Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service.

On 11 July 1969 the applicant was released from active duty.  Neither his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), nor his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Report), reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart, and item 40 (wounds), on his DA Form 20, is blank.  The applicant authenticated his DA Form 20 on 15 February 1969 and his DD Form 214 on the date of his separation.

There were no medical records available to the Board, and the applicant did not provide any medical evidence to substantiate his claim.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.  There is no evidence, and the applicant has not provided any, which confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action while in Vietnam.  The statement submitted in support of the applicant's request was rendered more than 20 years after the fact, and the author's statement that he was assigned with the applicant in Company D, from January 1968 until January 1969, is inconsistent with information contained in the applicant's file.  

2.  Statements rendered years after the fact, which are not supported by information from any official source, and are inconsistent with information contained in official documents, are not sufficient for the Board to conclude that an award of the Purple Heart would be appropriate.  

3.  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 that requirement.

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

__JH _ __  __KAK__  __RWA__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064767	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020205	
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.