RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        9 NOVEMBER 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060002142


      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. Gale J. Thomas                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Margaret Patterson            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert Rogers                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Ernestine Fields              |     |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 his application to correct
his records by upgrading his discharge, showing entitlement for PTSD (post-
traumatic stress disorder), and award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he suffered from PTSD as a result of being in
Vietnam.  As he learns more about PTSD he believes that his actions leading
up to his being absent without leave (AWOL) was a direct result of trauma
suffered in Vietnam.  He has only been under treatment for his disorder for
the past year and a half, including individual and group therapy.  In the
months leading up to his going AWOL he was having a lot of trouble
readjusting.  He was extremely paranoid, agitated, and irritable all the
time.  He had 30 days of leave, so he went home and did not go back.

3.  The applicant states that his anxiety continued and he started drinking
heavily to make it go away, in doing so he lost his wife and kids.  He
became a slob, a sloppy coarse person sleeping in flophouses.  Then, a
couple of years ago, he went to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and
got himself straight. He has not had a drink in 4 years, and is receiving
therapy and getting treatment for his disorder.

4.  The applicant further states that while serving honorably in Vietnam he
was wounded entitling him to the Purple Heart.

5.  The applicant provides information on PTSD, progress notes and medical
information summaries concerning his treatment for PTSD, depression, and
pain in his back, legs, and knees, as well as metallic shrapnel in his
right hand.

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
AR20040009621 on 9 June 2005.

2.  The applicant is submitting new arguments that his PTSD was a direct
result of trauma he suffered in Vietnam, which caused his misconduct for
which he was separated.  He also adds that he was wounded while serving in
Vietnam and is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.


3.  Evidence shows the applicant served in Vietnam from September 1969 to
November 1970.  There is no evidence in his available records that show he
was wounded while serving in Vietnam, and there are no general orders
awarding him the Purple Heart.   The applicant's name is not listed on the
Vietnam Casualty Roster.

4.  The applicant went AWOL on 28 December 1970 and surrendered to military
authorities on 25 July 1972.  At the time of his discharge, 1 September
1972, he was and had been AWOL since 18 August 1972.

5.  There is no evidence that the applicant suffered from or was diagnosed
with PTSD, or any variation of a mental disorder prior to his separation.
Documents submitted by the applicant show he began treatment for PTSD in
January 2003, over 30 years after his discharge.

6.  The applicant provides two letters of support concerning his diagnosis
of PTSD from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr. Hospital
in Hines, Illinois, attesting to his treatment for PTSD and depression
since
27 January 2003, which they feel was directly related to his service in
Vietnam.

7.  PTSD, an anxiety disorder, was not recognized as a psychiatric disorder
until 1980 with the publishing of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM) III.  The condition is described in the current DSM-
III-R, pages 247 through 25l.  While PTSD has only been categorized by
psychiatrists as a distinct diagnosis since 1980, it has, as early as the
Civil War, been described in psychological literature, variously labeled as
shell shock, Soldier's heart, effect syndrome, combat fatigue, and
traumatic neurosis.  During the period of time in question, similar
psychiatric symptomatology was categorized as hysterical neurosis.
Although the current label of PTSD is of rather recent acceptance, the idea
that catastrophes and tragedies can result in persistent emotional and
psychological symptoms is common even among the lay public.  While PTSD was
not recognized as a specific illness at the time of the applicant's
separation from the service, the fact that an individual might not be fit
for further military service because of psychosis, psychoneurosis, or
neurological disorders was outlined in Army Regulation 40-501, which was in
effect at the time of his separation.  The Army here established standards
and procedures for determining fitness for retention and utilized those
procedures and standards in
evaluating individuals at that time.  The specific diagnostic label given
to an individual's condition a decade or more after his discharge from the
service may change, but any change does not call into question the
application of then existing fitness standards.

8.  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.  There is no evidence in the available records nor did the applicant
provide documentation to substantiate his claim that his medical problem
(PTSD) was the cause of his misconduct.

2.  There is no evidence in the available records that show the applicant
was wounded while serving in Vietnam, and his name does not appear on the
Vietnam Casualty Roster, therefore there is no justification for granting
his request for award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__MP ___  ___RR __  ___EF __  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 AR20040009621, dated 9 June 2005.




                                  ____Margaret Patterson_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060002142                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061109                                |
|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.       |110.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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