IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    4 May 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090017895 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he never received his Purple Heart and it was not entered on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).  He adds his medical records should show an ankle injury caused when he rappelled from a helicopter.

3.  The applicant provides no additional documents.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 8 January 1968 and he served until he was honorably released on 10 August 1970.  He served in Vietnam as an infantryman from 24 July 1969 to 10 August 1970 with 
D Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry.

2.  The applicant's medical records were sent to the Veterans Administration Regional Office in Louisville, KY.  There are no medical records available for review with this case.






3.  The applicant's service records show:

* No orders awarding the Purple Heart
* No entries on his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) supporting award of a Purple Heart
* No Purple Heart on his DD Form 214

4.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.

5.  During the processing of this case, a member for the Board's staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command (HRC), which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973.  This review failed to reveal orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart (PH) 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 required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant wants the Purple Heart.

2.  There is no evidence to show the applicant was ever wounded; his medical records are with the VA.

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X____  __X_____  ___X____  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.




      _______ _  X_______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017895



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017895



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