RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 October 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060003800


      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. Edmund P. Mercanti            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Melinda M. Darby              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Jeffrey C. Redmann            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Ronald D. Gant                |     |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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded in Vietnam.  He states that he
suffered a contusion to his right hip and left thigh.

3.  The applicant does not provide any additional documentation in support
of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 3 August 1967.  The application submitted in this case is dated
6 March 2006.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s records show he was inducted and entered active duty on
18 August 1965.  He was awarded the military occupational specialty of
finance specialist, served in Vietnam, and was promoted to pay grade E-4.

4.  The applicant was given a separation physical examination on 3 August
1967.  In that examination the applicant answered no to the question “Have
you consulted or been treated by clinics, physicians, healers, or other
practitioners within the past 5 years” and he answered no to the question
“Have you ever had any illness or injury other than those already noted.”

5.  In that physical examination the attending physician qualified the
applicant for separation without any physical profile restrictions.  The
attending physician did not note any injuries or any defects or
abnormalities.

6.  On the same day, 3 August 1967, the applicant was honorably released
from active duty.

7.  On 22 June 1968, the applicant, then a Reservist, was involved in an
automobile accident in Wisconsin.  He was hospitalized for contusion of his
chest and abdominal wall.  The outpatient medical record recording the
circumstances of the applicant’s injuries state that he was wearing a seat
belt at the time of the accident.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.  There
is no statute of limitations for the award of the Purple Heart.

9.  Department of the Army General Orders Number 8, dated 1974, awarded all
personnel assigned to the United States Army Vietnam from 8 February 1962
through 28 March 1973 the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
with Palm.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant has not submitted any documentation to show that he was
wounded as a result of hostile action.

2.  In the applicant’s separation physical examination, given the day of
his release from active duty, the applicant stated that he had not
consulted or been treated by clinics, physicians, healers, or other
practitioners within the past 5 years, and the treating physician did not
note any injuries.

3.  However, the applicant was in a car accident a little less than a year
after his release from active duty.  While the applicant was treated for
contusion of his chest and abdominal wall, the outpatient medical record
shows that he was wearing a seat belt at the time.

4.  In the absence of corroborating evidence, there is insufficient
documentation to grant the applicant’s request.

5.  However, the applicant is entitled to the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry
Cross Unit Citation with Palm.

6.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant’s records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

7.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 3 August 1967; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 2 August 1970.  The applicant did not file within the 3-year
statute of limitations; however, since there is no statute of limitations
for award of the Purple Heart, it would be in the interest of justice to
excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___mmd_  ___jcr___  ___rdg___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant the requested relief.  As a result, the Board
recommends denial of the applicant’s request.

3.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned to show the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
with Palm.




                            __________Melinda M. Darby____________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060003800                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061019                                |
|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.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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