RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        29 MARCH 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040007632


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings 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:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Susan Powers                  |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman
Badge.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded during Desert Storm, was treated,
but never received the Purple Heart.  He states that he believes during his
outprocessing examination there was an error and the issue was overlooked.
He states that he knew he was wounded but did not realize that shrapnel
remained in his leg until it was discovered in 2004.  He states that he
remembers a "little twinch and some blood" but did not think "twice until
[he] seen a scab and was treated for a head wound."

3.  He states that he believes he should also be awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge because he was "originally in the infantry."

4.  The applicant provides a copy of a March 1991 request to be transferred
to a unit in Kuwait to assist in clearing and defusing mines, and extracts
from medical records which are dated in 2004.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 6 June 1991.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
13 September 2004.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant has been a
member of the Regular Army, United States Army Reserve, and the Army
National Guard. The applicant was a member of the United States Army
Reserve when he was ordered to active duty on 29 November 1990 in support
of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  He remained on active duty until
6 June 1991 when he was released and returned to his Reserve unit.
4.  The applicant's 1991 separation document indicates that he served in
Southwest Asia between 27 December 1990 and 17 May 1992.  The March 1991
request to be transferred to a unit in Kuwait was authenticated by the
applicant and indicates that he was a member of a quartermaster unit at the
time of the request.  His separation document also indicates that his last
unit of assignment, prior to his separation, was that same quartermaster
unit.  The document indicates that the applicant held an infantry-
instructor (11B1H) specialty and a water treatment specialty (77W10).

5.  The medical treatment documents provided by the applicant indicate that
an April 2004 examination, following a complaint of chronic right knee
pain, revealed "a small metallic piece of shrapnel present" in the
applicant's upper right calf.  A subsequent medical treatment document,
dated 8 June 2004, noted that the applicant was undergoing a medical
evaluation board for a variety of ailments, and contained an entry "also
has shrapnel in rt [right] leg from Desert Storm."

6.  There were no other medical records available to the Board, or provided
by the applicant, which confirmed the source of the shrapnel, or confirmed
that it was the result of hostile action.  The applicant's records do
indicate that he performed duties as a EOD (explosive ordnance) specialist
while a member of the Army National Guard in 1993.

7.  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.

8.  There are basically three requirements for award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge.  The soldier must be an infantryman (11 series
specialty), assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is
engaged in active ground combat, and must have actively participated in
such ground combat.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no compelling medical evidence that the applicant was wounded
as a result of hostile action during the Persian Gulf War, nor is there any
conclusive evidence that the "small metallic piece of shrapnel" in his
right calf was sustained as a result of hostile action, or that it had
warranted medical attention when first sustained.  In the absence of such
evidence, the fact that a piece of shrapnel was discovered in the
applicant's leg more than 13 years after his service in Southwest Asia is
insufficient evidence on which to base an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Although the applicant may have been an infantryman, the evidence
available to the Board suggests that he was assigned to a quartermaster
unit while deployed to Southwest Asia in support of the Persian Gulf War.
The fact that he also held a water treatment specialty during that same
period suggests that he was also likely not performing duties as an
infantryman at the time.

3.  In order to meet eligibility requirements for award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the applicant would have needed to have been assigned to
an infantry unit, performed duties as an infantryman, and been involved in
ground combat.  There is no evidence that he met any of those requirements
and as such, is not entitled to an award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 6 June 1991; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on
5 June 1994.  However, the applicant did not file within the 3-year statute
of limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation or evidence to
show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to
timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___MM__  ___PM __  ___SP __  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  ______Melvin Meyer_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040007632                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050329                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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