RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         30 NOVEMBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040008206


      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. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Shirley Powell                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |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, in effect, that her spouse, a deceased former
Soldier, be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that her spouse was shot and wounded in the line
of duty but his records do not show that information.  She states that he
was receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans
Affairs for the gunshot injury and is trying to obtain a Purple Heart so he
can receive a “ground burial at Arlington National Cemetery.”

3.  The applicant provides a copy of her spouse’s Department of Veterans
Affairs rating statement from 1974, a telegram stating he was hospitalized
from gunshot injuries, and copies of photographs taken while he was
hospitalized.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The former Soldier’s records were not available to the Board, however,
a copy of his separation document notes that he entered active duty on 24
October 1968 and served in Vietnam for approximately 6 months.  He
performed duties as an indirect fire crewman and was awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge.

2.  A copy of a typed “remarks” card, submitted by the applicant with her
application, contains the notation “GUN SHOT WOUND RIGHT FOOT AND LEG” and
“WOUNDED ON 20 Sept. 67.”  It also indicates that the individual was “NOW
AT” the 246th General Hospital in Japan.  The card does not contain a name,
nor does it indicate that the gunshot wound was the result of hostile
action.

3.  There were no medical records available to the Board and the former
Soldier’s name was not among a list of individuals reported as combat
casualties during the Vietnam War.

4.  Included with the documents provided to the Board by the applicant was
a copy of a 1975 letter addressed to the former Soldier.  The letter
informed the Soldier of the requirements for award of the Purple Heart and
then stated that “since there is no official records that you were wounded
in action, you may not be awarded the Purple Heart.”

5.  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.

6.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards)
provided, in pertinent part, for award of the Purple Heart for actions in
Vietnam.  In addition to the requirements established in the Army’s Awards
and Decorations Regulation, it also stated that authority to award the
Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders.  Further, it directed
that all personnel treated and released within 24 hours would be awarded
the Purple Heart by the organization to which the individual was assigned.
Personnel requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or evacuation
from Vietnam would be awarded the Purple Heart directly by the hospital
commander rendering treatment.

7.  On 23 October 1968, at the completion of his service contract, the
former Soldier was released from active duty and transferred to the United
States Army Reserve.  His separation document, which he authenticated, does
not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

8.  In 1974 the former Soldier was awarded disability compensation from the
Department of Veterans Affairs for a “gunshot wound, right lower leg.”  The
compensation document does not, however, indicate that the gunshot wound
resulted from hostile action.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the former Soldier may have sustained a gunshot wound while in
Vietnam and was subsequently hospitalized as a result, there is no medical
evidence which confirms that the gunshot wound resulted of hostile action.
Unfortunately, in the absence of such evidence, there is no basis for an
award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Although the Department of Veterans Affairs may have awarded the former
Soldier disability compensation, it does not serve as evidence that he was
wounded as a result of hostile action.  However, it is possible that there
may be evidence in files maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs
which could confirm the source of the former Soldier’s wound.  The
applicant is advised to continue pursuit of those records and if medical
documentation can be obtained confirming that her spouse’s gunshot wound
was in fact the result of hostile action she should submit a request for
reconsideration.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JNS__  ___SP __  ___PM__  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.





                                  ______John N. Slone________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040008206                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041130                                |
|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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