RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        11 October 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060001070


      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. John J. Wendland, Jr.         |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. David R. Gallagher            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Roland S. Venable             |     |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 reconsideration of award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he was wounded during a firefight in
Vietnam by shrapnel from a short round that he fired from his own mortar.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the
United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), with an effective date of
28 November 1969; DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of
Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 31 August 2005; and a
notarized letter from First Sergeant G_____ E. F____, U.S. Army, Retired,
dated 28 July 2005.

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
AR20040000786, on 6 January 2005.

2.  The applicant's military service record shows that he entered active
duty on 29 November 1966.  Upon completion of basic combat training and
advanced individual training, the applicant was awarded military
occupational specialty
11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman).  He served in Vietnam from 10 December
1967 through 22 January 1969 as a member of B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th
Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division.  He was honorably separated on 28
November 1969 after completing a total of 3 years of net active service.

3.  There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel record which
show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in
his record that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile
action.  His
DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show an entry in Item
40 (Wounds) or list the Purple Heart in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
The applicant's name is not listed on The Adjutant General, Casualty
Division's, Vietnam Casualty Roster.

4.  The applicant's military service records contain a Standard Form (SF)
89 (Report of Medical History), dated 7 October 1969, prepared by the
applicant at the time of his separation medical examination.  In response
to Item 33 (Have you ever had any illness or injury other than those
already noted? (If yes, specify when, where, and give details)), the
applicant placed a check mark in the "No" column.  Moreover, a review of
the document shows that it is absent any indication that the applicant was
injured in Vietnam.  The document does show that the applicant certified
that he reviewed the information that he supplied, that it was true and
complete to the best of his knowledge, and he affixed his signature to the
document.

5.  The applicant's military service records also contain a SF 88 (Report
of Medical Examination), dated 7 October 1969, issued at the time of the
applicant's separation medical examination.  Item 39 (Identifying Body
Marks, Scars, Tattoos) of the document contains a check mark in the
"Abnormal" column placed there by the attending physician.  In the "Notes"
portion of the form for this item, the physician entered "Tattoo on both
right and left lower arms."  The document fails to show any reference to
indicate that the applicant had any scars on his right arm, right hand,
cheek or neck.  Further review of the document shows that it is absent any
indication that the applicant was injured or wounded while serving in
Vietnam.

6.  In support of his application for reconsideration, the applicant
provides a notarized letter from First Sergeant G_____ E. F____, U.S. Army,
Retired, dated 28 July 2005.  This document shows, in pertinent part, that
the former first sergeant attests to the fact that he witnessed the
applicant receive shrapnel wounds to his face, neck, shoulder, and right
arm while he was firing an 81mm mortar during a firefight with the enemy in
Vietnam on 7 April 1968.  The former first sergeant also states that the
applicant was treated by medics in the field and returned to duty, but was
medically evacuated to a hospital 2 or 3 days later because his wounds
became infected.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action
against an enemy or 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.

8.  Included as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for
Fiscal Year 1994 (DoDAA for FY 1994) was an amendment to the rules
governing award of the Purple Heart.  While the original rules established
that the Purple Heart would be awarded to individuals killed or wounded as
a result of hostile action, the amendment enabled the Secretaries of each
department to award the Purple Heart to members of the armed forces who
were killed or wounded in action by weapon fire, while directly engaged in
armed conflict, other than as the result of an act of an enemy of the
United States.  This ruling, in effect, granted the Service Secretaries the
authority to award the Purple Heart to individuals directly engaged in
armed conflict that were killed or wounded as a result of "friendly fire."

9.  As a result of the DoDAA for FY 1994, Army Regulation 600-8-22 was
amended and, in pertinent part, provides for award of the Purple Heart to
individuals wounded or killed as a result of “friendly fire” in the “heat
of battle” as long as the “friendly” projectile or agent was released with
the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or
equipment.  However, consistent with any award of the Purple Heart,
substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was
sustained by "friendly fire" while in the "heat of battle", the wound must
have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a
matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests reconsideration of award of the Purple Heart for
shrapnel wounds he received during a firefight in Vietnam on 7 April 1968
and provides a statement from a former first sergeant in support of his
request.  Although the veracity of the former first sergeant's statement is
not in question, his statement, and the letter that the applicant wrote in
early April 1968 (that was considered in his original request), provide
insufficient documentary evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in
this case.

2.  In order to substantiate a claim for award of the Purple Heart,
documentary evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the
result of hostile action or as a result of “friendly fire” in the “heat of
battle, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment
must have been made a matter of official record (emphasis added).  While
the applicant's letter and the statement from the former first sergeant
provide evidence that appear to satisfy the first requirement for the
award, this is insufficient evidence to satisfy all of the criteria
required for award of the Purple Heart.  Specifically, there is
insufficient documentary evidence to show that the applicant's wounds
required medical treatment or of any such medical treatment having been
made a matter of official record in the applicant's medical record.
Therefore, in the absence of official documentary evidence substantiating
medical treatment of the applicant's wounds, there is insufficient evidence
upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__PHM__  __DRG__  __RSV __  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 AR20040000786, dated 6 January 2005.




                                  ____Patrick H. McGann____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060001070                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |20061011                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050106                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19691128                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-200, Chapter 2                   |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Expiration of Term of Service           |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015.0000                           |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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