| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr. | Analyst |
| Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Kenneth W. Lapin | Member | |
| Mr. John T. Meixell | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: Award of the Purple Heart.
APPLICANT STATES: That he was injured while serving in Vietnam and never received the Purple Heart. He further contends he thought he was awarded a Purple Heart until he reviewed his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge). In support of his application, the applicant submitted a copy of Headquarters, United States Army School/Training Center (Fort Gordon, Georgia) Special Orders Number 11, dated 15 January 1974; a copy of the reverse side of a Standard Form 93 (Report of Medical History, dated 11 October 1973; and a copy of a Veterans Affairs (VA) Form
10-1000 (Discharge Summary), dated 13 May 1986.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
The applicant entered active duty in October 1963. He initially served as an armored intelligence specialist in the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany and later transferred to military occupational specialty (MOS) 43, canvas and textile repairman. The applicant served in Vietnam from March 1968 through March 1969 as a canvas repairman in MOS 43K. He was honorably separated from active duty on 25 January 1974.
The applicant’s records contain several DD Forms 214; however, the DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) with an effective date of 12 March 1969 covered the entire period of the applicant’s service in Vietnam. This discharge document, which was authenticated by the applicant at the time of his separation, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
The applicant’s 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty) with an effective date of 25 January 1974 was the last discharge document issued to him. This document does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart. There also is no evidence in his records that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), which was audited on 20 November 1973, does not show any entry in item 40 (Wounds) or list the Purple Heart in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
The applicant provided a copy of Headquarters, United States Army School/Training Center (Fort Gordon, Georgia) Special Orders Number 11, dated 15 January 1974. These orders show the applicant was transferred to the Separation Transfer Point at Fort Gordon, Georgia, for separation processing and that he was to be separated from the Army effective 2400 hours on 24 January 1974 with a narrative reason of “Expiration of term of service.”
The applicant provided a copy of a Standard Form 93 (Report of Medical History), dated 11 October 1973. This document was prepared by the applicant and reviewed by an Army Medical Corps captain and contains the entry: Hearing loss was in land mine explosion R [right] ear hearing loss.”
The applicant’s records contain the Standard Form 89 prepared by the applicant on 12 March 1969 at the time of his separation after return from Vietnam. This document contains the entry: [date incomplete] “68-near mine explosion. Has noted ringing and supposed hearing loss.”
The applicant’s Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 12 March 1969, is in the applicant’s records. This record shows that the applicant sustained hearing loss in the right and left ear and that a P-3 [permanent 3] physical profile was issued to the applicant in July 1968. The examining physician recommended further physical profile evaluation or medical treatment and disposition.
The VA Form 10-1000 (Discharge Summary), dated 13 May 1986, describes a surgical procedure for excision of a “verrucose keloid over scalp” [per Dorlund’s Medical Dictionary--a new growth or tumor consisting of whitish ridges, nodules, and plates of dense tissue]. This VA record states the applicant claimed that this condition was the result of a fragment injury from a land mine explosion in Vietnam in 1968 or 1969. The VA record also makes reference under past medical history to hearing loss secondary to mine explosion.
Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound 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, 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 medical evidence that the applicant sustained hearing loss during his military service from October 1963 to 25 January 1974. There are also medical documents which contain entries indicating that the applicant sustained hearing loss as a result of a land mine explosion in Vietnam. However, none of these records show that competent medical authority in Vietnam determined that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.
2. The Board noted that records indicating the applicant’s hearing loss was the result of a mine explosion or that his scalp condition was the result of fragment wounds were either self-authored or based or were otherwise undocumented statements by VA medical personnel over 17 years after the applicant’s service in Vietnam.
3 Further, the Board noted there are no orders or other evidence that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded or treated for wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action. Records also show that the applicant authenticated his discharge document very shortly after returning from Vietnam and that DD Form 214 did not show entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.
4. Based on the foregoing, the Board concluded that the preponderance of evidence in this case indicates the applicant was not wounded or injured as a result of hostile action. In the absence of records prepared at the time of the applicant’s service in Vietnam which show that he was wounded or treated for wounds or injuries as the result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.
| CASE ID | AR2002069699 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020507 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | MR CHUN |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0015.0000 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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