| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | Senior Analyst |
| Ms. June Hajjar | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Karol A. Kennedy | Member | |
| Mr. Roger W. Able | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: Award of the Purple Heart.
APPLICANT STATES: He was wounded in combat and should have been awarded the Purple Heart. In support of his request he submits a statement, authored in April 2001, from an individual who stated he had served with the applicant as a member of Company D, 3rd Battalion, 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, between January 1968 and January 1969. The former company member indicated that he could "recall" the applicant "receiving a sever [sic] cut under his lower lip as well as damage to his lower front teeth, when we were under mortar attack." He notes the applicant's injuries were severe enough to warrant treatment at the base camp, and that when the applicant returned, the author of the statement could "remember him showing me [the author] the two silver caps required to repair his teeth and [the] scar that was forming under his lip, as a result of the injury."
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
He entered active duty in July 1967 and was assigned to Vietnam as an infantryman in January 1968. According to information contained in his official military personnel file, the applicant was initially assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry, part of the 4th Infantry Division, and was reassigned to Company D of the 3rd Battalion in April 1968. He remained with Company D until he was reassigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, in August 1968. In January 1969 the applicant departed Vietnam after being awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, and an Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service.
On 11 July 1969 the applicant was released from active duty. Neither his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), nor his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Report), reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart, and item 40 (wounds), on his DA Form 20, is blank. The applicant authenticated his DA Form 20 on 15 February 1969 and his DD Form 214 on the date of his separation.
There were no medical records available to the Board, and the applicant did not provide any medical evidence to substantiate his claim.
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: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1. There is no evidence, and the applicant has not provided any, which confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action while in Vietnam. The statement submitted in support of the applicant's request was rendered more than 20 years after the fact, and the author's statement that he was assigned with the applicant in Company D, from January 1968 until January 1969, is inconsistent with information contained in the applicant's file.
2. Statements rendered years after the fact, which are not supported by information from any official source, and are inconsistent with information contained in official documents, are not sufficient for the Board to conclude that an award of the Purple Heart would be appropriate.
3. 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 that requirement.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__JH _ __ __KAK__ __RWA__ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2001064767 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020205 |
| 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. | 107.00 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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