RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        29 SEPTEMBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040011570


      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             |
|     |Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul Smith                    |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Leonard Hassell               |     |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 that his record be corrected to show award of
the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that the award was never reflected on his DD Form
214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty).

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 and a copy of a
        10 November 1986 medical record report

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant entered on active duty on 30 April 1965.  Orders show
that he was reassigned from Camp Roberts, California to the 1st Infantry
Division in Vietnam with an availability date of March 1966.  A 5 June 1967
physical profile record submitted to Company C, 701st Maintenance Battalion
of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam indicated that the applicant had a
7 month history of infection of his face brought on by shaving.  On 19 June
1967 orders were published by the 21st Casualty Staging Flight (Pacific Air
Force) assigning the applicant in a patient status to Valley Forge General
Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

2.  An 18 December 1967 report of medical examination did not indicate any
injuries or wounds sustained by the applicant, but did indicate that the
applicant’s request for a hardship discharge was approved.  In the report
of medical history that he furnished for the examination the applicant
indicated that he had, or had had, various medical conditions, e.g., skin
disease, mumps, eye trouble, boils, appendicitis, etc.  He indicated on
that report that he did not have nor did he ever have any foot trouble.

3.  The applicant was released from active duty on 22 December 1967 under
honorable conditions.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple
Heart.   He signed the DD Form 214 attesting to its accuracy.

4.  The applicant served as a member of the Army Reserve not on active duty
from 23 December 1967 to 29 April 1971.  He had a break in his military
service until September 1972 when he reentered the Army Reserve.  On 4
November 1974 he entered on active duty as a Reserve recruiter at Readiness
Region II at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  He remained on active duty until his
retirement on           31 December 1991.

5.  The applicant’s extensive medical records show that he was treated on
numerous occasions for problems with his feet, for instance, on 8 July 1975
he was treated because he dropped a can of paint on his left foot.  On 23
October 1984 he underwent an operation to remove a bunion from his foot.

6.  The applicant’s reports of medical examinations and reports of medical
history that he furnished for those examinations dated in July 1975,
September 1976, August 1981, November 1985, and December 1991, in some
instances reflect his problems with his feet, e.g., the 22 November 1985
report of medical history indicates that he had a history of trauma in 1966
to his right great toe when an ammunition box dropped on it.  A 14
September 1987 medical report shows that he had a foot operation in 1985
and again in 1986.  Another report shows that he sustained trauma to his
right foot in 1965, sustaining a fracture and laceration of his first toe.
None of the reports or medical records, however, indicates that he was
wounded as a result of hostile action.

7.  A 16 March 1988 medical report indicated that the applicant’s past
medical history was significant for a stab injury in Vietnam in the right
lower quadrant, status post exploration, and that he had multiple right
foot surgeries.

8.  The 10 November 1986 medical record report that the applicant submits
with his request indicates that the applicant complained of painful right
foot for approximately 20 years.  The report indicated that the applicant
was injured in Vietnam and had surgery for irrigation and debridement of
the wound over the proximal metatarsal phalangeal joint of the great toe,
right foot.

9.  The applicant is not listed as a casualty on the Vietnam casualty
report.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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, and the medical treatment must have
been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available medical evidence shows that the applicant was treated for
problems with his feet on numerous occasions.  This evidence, however,
consists of medical records that were created, in most cases, many years
after his release from active duty in 1967.  Nonetheless, none of these
records indicate that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.
Furthermore, there are no medical records contemporaneous to the 1965-1967
time period to show that he was wounded in action.  In the 18 December 1967
report of medical examination and report of medical history that he
furnished for the examination, there are no entries showing that he was
wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.

2.  The Board notes the medical record report that the applicant submits
with his application.  The Board does not dispute the applicant’s
contention; however, there is insufficient evidence to show that he was
wounded as a result of hostile action.

3.  Consequently, the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart
cannot be granted.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___LE___  ___PS __  __LH____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.





                                  ______Lester Echols________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040011570                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050929                                |
|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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