RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003654


      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. Prevolia A. Harper            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. James B. Gunlicks             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. McCants           |     |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, reconsideration of his request to be
awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant requests reconsideration of his case based on the
evidence in his health record, dated 27 January 1972.  He further states
that the U. S. Army Physical Disability Agency recently approved his
request for Combat Related Special Compensation.

3.  The applicant provides a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of
Medical Care), dated 27 January 1972 through 5 March 1973.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR2003097216 on
27 May 2004.

2.  The applicant’s records show that he initially entered active duty on
15 January 1953.  He was appointed as a warrant officer in the military
occupational specialty (MOS) Support Supply Technician.  He retired from
active duty on 31 January 1979 after completing 26 years and 16 days of
active military service.

3.  The DD Form 214 issued to the applicant with an effective date of
31 January 1979 shows in item 27(Decorations, Medals, Badges,
Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), that
he earned the following awards during his tenure on active duty:  Legion of
Merit; Bronze Star Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC); Meritorious
Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal with 4 OLC; Joint Service
Commendation Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Air Medal; Vietnam
Service Medal; Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation;
Vietnam Campaign Medal; and 4 Overseas Service Bars.

4.  The applicant’s record shows he served a tour of duty in Korea from
6 January 1964 through 22 January 1965.  He also served two tours of duty
in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN).  The first period was from 3 September
1968 through 23 August 1969 and the second period was from 23 March 1971
through 25 February 1972.

5.  During its original review of this case, the Board found no evidence of
record indicating that the applicant’s wounds/injuries were combat related.
 Further, the applicant’s record did not indicate he was wounded in action
and his name was not included on the Department of the Army Vietnam
Casualty Roster.  As a result, the Board concluded that notwithstanding the
doctor’s statement from 1994 which indicated the applicant sustained a
gunshot wound in 1972, there is no evidence of record that corroborates
this information.  Therefore his request was denied by the ABCMR.

6.  The applicant now provides medical records, dated 27 January 1972.
This document contains the entry “39 year old man got ( L) Left shoulder
caught in--. This portion of the document appears to be altered and is not
completely legible.
Additional entries with a drawing of an arm contains the entry “Large
laceration
L-Left deltoid muscle, jagged edge.”  On 28 January 1972, the physician
wrote ”doing well today areas of---around the wound and sutures out 7 to 8
days”.  These medical treatment records do not show the applicant’s wound
was the result of a combat related injury.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes the Army’s awards
policy.  Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on awarding the Purple Heart.  It
states, in pertinent part, that in order to support award of the Purple
Heart, there must be evidence confirming the wound/injury for which the
award is being made was the direct result of, or caused by enemy action,
the wound or injury must have required treatment by medical officials and
this medical treatment must have been made a matter of official Army
records.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The new evidence provided by the applicant was carefully considered.
However, the medical evidence he submitted does not provides any
confirmation that his injury was combat related.  While the records show
the applicant sustained an injury to his arm, these documents show the
applicant’s arm was injured after being caught in or on an object.  The
medical records contain a drawing of the arm showing the location of the
laceration injury. The physician’s notes did not specifically state the
injury was combat related.

2.  By regulation, in order to support award of the Purple Heart, there
must be evidence confirming the wound/injury for which the award is being
made was incurred as a direct result of, or was caused by enemy action,
there must be evidence that the wound/injury was treated by military
medical personnel and this treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

3.  Absent sufficient evidence of record, or new independent evidence
provided by the applicant that confirm that his wounds/injuries were
incurred as a direct result of, or were cause by enemy action, the
regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart
has still not been satisfied in this case.

4.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily
appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to
submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JTM __  __JBG __  __JRM __  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 to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2003097216, dated 27 May 2004.




                                   _____John T. Meixell__ ___
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003654                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051020                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)          |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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