RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  17 April 2008
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080000034


	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.  




Director



Analyst

      The following members, a quorum, were present:


M

Chairperson

M

Member

M

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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he served in Iraq from March 2004-2005.  While on tower guard duty, enemy rockets were fired into his compound.  A rocket hit a wall near the base of his tower.  While ducking down in his tower, he hurt his wrist.  He did not report the injury.  Finally in January 2006, he sought medical treatment which revealed a scaphoid non-union advanced collapse (broken wrist).  He was treated by a fixation with bone graft.  When his pain increased, he elected a permanent profile.

3.  The applicant provides 

	a.  His separation order – Orders 029-0172, Headquarters, III Corps and Fort Hood, Fort Hood, TX, dated 29 January 2007.

	b.  His DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty).

	c.  A statement from his wife.

	d.  A statement from a former comrade-in-arms who was present with him in the guard tower.  The statement mentions only that he and the applicant were in a guard tower, that a rocket hit a wall somewhere beneath the tower, and both he and the applicant "dove down to take cover" in the tower.  When all was clear, the applicant manned a SAW (squad automatic weapon) and he manned the radio.  The statement does not mention any wounding or injury to the applicant's wrist.

	e.  Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) rating decision paperwork showing he was rated at 20 percent disabled for degenerative arthritis of the right wrist and tinnitus.

	f.  Service medical records detailing his broken right wrist injury and subsequent treatment.


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was a member of the Regular Army from 12 September 2002 through 11 March 2007.  He served in Iraq from 9 March 2004 through 15 March 2005.  He was discharged by reason of disability with severance pay of $21,714.00. 

2.  Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  There are no medical records in the available military personnel file that show the applicant sustained wounds as a result of hostile action or that show he was treated for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.

4.  There are no general orders in the applicant's records to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.

5.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Defense Casualty Information Processing System (DCIPS).

6.  The applicant submitted a copy of his Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) which shows he was found unfit for continued service due to "limitation of motion, right wrist, status post non-union of the scaphoid followed by fixation with bone graft." Noted on the PEB was the statement "Secondary to armed conflict."

7.  No Line of Duty (LOD) investigation (DD Form 2173) was conducted into the circumstances surrounding the applicant's injury because he did not report it until approximately 18 months after the injury was allegedly incurred.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The fact that an individual was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award of the Purple Heart.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.  He contends he was injured when he dove for cover during a rocket attack in Iraq during May 2004.

2.  The applicant did not report to his compound medical clinic for treatment after the rocket attack.  Review of his medical records for his service in Iraq reveals he only sought medical treatment for illness, not injury.  He did not report his injury until some 18 months later, after he had departed Iraq and returned to Fort Hood.

3.  There is no LOD investigation into the circumstances surrounding the applicant's injury because of the great delay in reporting it.

4.  There are no general orders that show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  The applicant's name does not appear on the DCIPS.

5.  The applicant's version of how he injured his wrist is not in question; however, the applicant’s record is void of any orders or other documents that indicate he was recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart by proper authority while serving on active duty.  Unfortunately, the applicant did not seek medical treatment at the time; thus, there is no record to prove that he was injured during the rocket attack and that he sought treatment for the injury.  Absent any evidence that confirms the applicant was wounded as a result of enemy action, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been satisfied in this case.

6.  The applicant's military service was extraordinary; therefore, the applicant and all others concerned should know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__tsk___  __jlp___  __dwt___  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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



							TSK
      ______________________
                CHAIRPERSON


ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080000034



2


DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
1901 SOUTH BELL STREET, 2ND FLOOR
ARLINGTON, VA  22202-4508