BOARD DATE:	  21 August 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130022422 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he has new evidence not previously considered.

3.  The applicant provides a statement from his former commanding officer.

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 AR20130002864 on 8 October 2013.

2.  The applicant submitted a new argument in the form of a statement by his former commanding officer attesting to his wound which was not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, it is considered new evidence and warrants consideration by the Board.

3.  After having prior honorable enlisted service in the Regular Army, the applicant was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve on 14 September 1967 with a concurrent order to active duty.  

4.  He served as an infantry officer (parachutist) in Vietnam from 14 February 1968 to 20 March 1969.  On 13 September 1969, he was released from active duty in the rank of first lieutenant.

5.  His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show award of the Purple Heart.

6.  There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There is also nothing in the typical sources below that show he was wounded and/or injured as a result of hostile action.

	a.  Item 18 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 66 (Officer Qualification Record) does not show he was ever in a patient status.

	b.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to him.

	c.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing.  This is a microfiche listing of Vietnam Era casualties that is used to verify entitlement to the Purple Heart.

7.  He provided a statement from his former commanding officer who states he witnessed the applicant's elbow had been wounded, treated, and bandaged.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:

* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records

2.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.  Regrettably, the statement provided by his former commander is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X_____  ____X____  _X____  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 AR20130002864, dated 8 October 2013.



      __________X____________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130022422



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130022422



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