Docket No: 11026-19 
Ref: Signature Date 
 
                 
Dear : 
 
This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Section 1552 of Title 10, United States Code.  After careful and conscientious consideration of relevant portions of your naval record and your application, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found the evidence submitted insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 3 March 2021.  The names and votes of the panel members will be furnished upon request.  Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of the Board.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your naval record, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies, and an advisory opinion (AO) provided by Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals (NDBDM), letter dated 25 January 2021, and your rebuttal statement dated 20 February 2021.   
 
You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty on 5 January 1967.  On 23 April 1970, you were discharged from the Marine Corps with a general (under honorable conditions) characterization of service at the expiration of your obligated service.   
    
In your petition, you request to be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) Medal.  The Board considered your contention that you were wounded by enemy mortar shrapnel.  You were wounded, but refused to be medically evacuated.  Upon your release from active duty, your medical records show proof of shrapnel wounds, jungle rot, and large scar on your right leg kneecap.  The injury from the shrapnel on your right knee was surgically treated after your discharge at the Veterans Hospital in . 
 
As part of the Board’s review, an AO was provided by NDBDM.  The AO concluded by opining that in order to qualify for the PH, a wound must have resulted from enemy action and necessitated treatment by a medical officer.  You failed to establish that these criteria were met.  Neither your medical record nor your service record contains evidence of treatment by a medical officer, nor is there evidence that the injury was of such severity that it necessitated treatment by a medical officer.  The Board concurred with the AO and concluded that your record does not fulfill the requirement for entitlement to the PH Medal.  Accordingly, given the totality of the circumstances, the Board determined that your request does not merit relief. 
 
You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new matters, which will require you to complete and submit a new DD Form 149.  New matters are those not previously presented to or considered by the Board.  In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.  Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice. 
 
 Sincerely,