RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         07 OCTOBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004102110


      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. Walter Morrison               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul Smith                    |     |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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he sustained a wound to his right wrist on 11
February 1968 when he was exchanging currency in preparation for departing
Vietnam.  He states that the exchange window was blown out from a rocket
attack and that while he had the option of seeking medical treatment, he
did not want to miss his flight home and so bandaged it himself.

3.  He states he was only 19 years old at the time and it was not important
to him them, but it is now.  He notes that the scar is still visible.

4.  The applicant provides a copy of his Department of the Army Form 20
(Enlisted Qualification Record), his self-authored statement, a copy of his
1969 separation document, and a copy of a December 2003 letter from the
Awards Branch at the Human Resources Command-Alexandria informing him that
he did not meet the eligibility requirements for award of the Purple Heart.


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant entered
active duty on 28 January 1966 and served in Vietnam as a dispersing
specialist between February 1967 and February 1968.

2.  Upon his return to the United States in February 1968 he served the
remainder of his enlistment contract at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  He was
released from active duty on 27 January 1969.

3.  The applicant’s separation physical examination, completed in December
1968 does not reflect any wounds sustained as a result of hostile action
while in Vietnam and makes no mention of any scars on his right wrist.
Item 40 (wounds) on his Department of the Army Form 20 is blank.  Copies of
the applicant’s Vietnam Era service medical records, which were in his
official military personnel file, makes no mention of any combat incurred
wounds and his name is not among a list of individuals reported as combat
casualties during the Vietnam War.





4.  In 1993 the applicant returned to military service as a member of the
United States Army Reserve and continues in that capacity today.  His
service has included additional periods of active duty and in January 2002
he was promoted to pay grade E-8.

5.  In December 2003 officials from the Army’s Awards Branch informed the
applicant that he did not meet the eligibility requirements for award of
the Purple Heart.  Their letter informed the applicant that the criteria
required that a wound require treatment by medical personnel and that the
wound be made a matter of official record and that award of the Purple
Heart could not be based solely on the Department of Veterans Affairs
“granting of service connected disabilities.”

6.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Two of the primary requirements for award of the Purple Heart are that
the wound required treatment by a medical officer and that the wound be
made a matter of official record.  Neither of those requirements has been
met in this case.

2.  While the applicant notes that he did not seek medical treatment at the
time of the injury because he did not want to miss his plane, he also
failed to mention the combat wound following his return to the United
States, during his nearly 12 months of military service following
completion of his tour of duty in Vietnam, or as part of his separation
physical examination.  There would have been numerous opportunities to seek
treatment and document the combat wound after his return to the United
States.

3.  In the absence of more compelling medical evidence that the applicant
was in fact wounded as a result of hostile action while in Vietnam, there
is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.

4.  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 that requirement.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__WM___  __PS ___  __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.





                                  _____Walter Morrison______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004102110                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041007                                |
|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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