APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That his DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge, be corrected to show that he received the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was wounded in Vietnam in August of 1970 and the Purple Heart was never recorded on his DD Form 214 when he was released from active duty.

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

He was inducted on 12 August 1969 and served 1 year in Vietnam as a light weapons infantryman.  He was honorably discharged upon expiration of his term of service on 11 August 1971 in pay grade E-4.

His awards include the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Sharpshooter Badge with rifle bar.

The applicant’s enlisted qualification record contains no entries under the item entitled “wounds”.  His medical records show that he was treated while in Vietnam for a laceration to the left knee sustained as the result of a fall, as recorded by the physician who examined him at the time.  The medical record also shows that approximately 5 months after leaving Vietnam, in May 1971, he was evaluated for pain, numbness and swelling of the right elbow.  The consulting physician’s medical history, based on the applicant’s statement, indicates that the injury resulted from shrapnel.  The report reflects, however, that the applicant stated that he received no medical attention at the time of the injury.

The applicant’s separation physical examination reflects that he was found qualified for separation with no disqualifying defects.  It records that the applicant suffered an injury to the left knee but makes no mention of an injury to the elbow.  There is no elaboration on the circumstances of either injury.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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 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.  The record does not reflect that the applicant was wounded as the result of hostile action and that the wound or wounds were recorded in his medical record at the time they occurred.

2.  The record does show that on separate occasions he suffered an injury to the left knee and to the right elbow. The injury to the knee was recorded by the treating physician as the result of a fall.  The elbow injury was apparently not reported by the applicant until some months after it occurred, and then, he admitted that it was not treated when it happened.

3.  The evidence of record does not support that the applicant sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there appears to be 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

                       DENY APPLICATION




						Karl F. Schneider
						Acting Director