RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 3 May 2007
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060012006
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.
x
x
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 earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states that he was injured in Vietnam. Two specialists, who were assigned to the 661st Ordnance, witnessed his accident. He went on sick call but he had a previously scheduled appointment. He showed the doctor the bruises to his left hip. The doctor explained to him that hip problems were similar to bruised ribs and there was not much a person could do but wait for them to heal. He states that over time the cartilage between his bones just wore down. The problems with his back, right foot, and right hip were the result of his injury to his left hip. His limp forced him to walk differently and his right hip and right foot suffered. In 1973, he went to Sheboygan Orthopedics in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for his hip problem. At that time, he explained his injury in Vietnam in which he was thrown 10 to 15 feet. He had total reconstruction of his right foot in 1990. He states he has suffered during his lifetime due to his service to his country and he deserves the Purple Heart and any minimal benefits for the short time he has left.
3. The applicant provides no additional documents in support of his application.
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 AR20050015826 on 20 July 2006.
2. The applicant has provided new issues that will be considered by the Board.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army on 19 January 1967. He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 76A1O (Supply Clerk). The applicant was assigned to Vietnam on 14 December 1967 with the 661st Ordnance Company.
4. There are no orders in the applicant's personnel records which show he was awarded the Purple Heart. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not list any wounds as a result of hostile action in item 40 (Wounds). His name is not included on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
5. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) on the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was a patient at the 106th General Hospital in Japan on 11 October 1968 and was transferred to the Medical Holding Detachment, Irwin Army Hospital at Fort Riley, Kansas on 15 October 1968.
6. There are no medical documents which indicate he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
7. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 25 October 1968. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
8. The applicants personnel records contain a document from a civilian physician in Sheboygan, Wisconsin which indicates he was examined on 1 April 1973 for discomfort to his left hip. The document indicated the applicant injured his left hip in Vietnam but the x-rays were inconclusive at that time.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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. Paragraph 2-8b(2) states that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. The regulation states that the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award. This regulation also provides that there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. There are no orders which authorize award of the Purple Heart to the applicant. There are no medical documents which indicate he was wounded as a result of hostile action and his name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
2. The applicant states that he injured his left hip in Vietnam. By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, that the wound required treatment by a medical officer, and the treatment record must have been made a matter of official record. Although the applicants Enlisted Qualification Record shows he was transferred to the 106th General Hospital in Japan, there are no medical documents available which verify he was injured as a result of hostile action. Therefore, he has not met the requirements for award of the Purple Heart.
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 AR20050015826, dated 20 July 2006.
x________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20060012006
SUFFIX
RECON
20060720
DATE BOARDED
20070503
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. Schwartz
ISSUES 1.
107.0015
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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