IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	16 September 2008  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080006171


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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he was slightly wounded in combat, but did not require medical evacuation from the field.  When he was discharged, there was a lot of anti-war sentiment and he just wanted to be left alone.  Now he is proud of his service and wants the Purple Heart he deserves.

3.  The applicant provides:

	a.  Copies of declassified Daily Staff Journals for 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry, consisting of 6 pages for the period 0001-2400 hours, 11 December 1968.

	b.  A 31 July 2007 letter from a former comrade-in-arms who remembers the applicant being wounded.

	c.  General Orders Number 1123, Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division, dated 30 January 1969, showing the former comrade-in-arms received the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for actions on 12 December 1968.

	d.  Copies of page 165 and page 173 from the former comrade-in-arms' memoir about Vietnam.

	e.  His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period 12 March 1968 to 11 March 1970 and showing he was awarded the Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with "V" Device and
1st Oak Leaf Cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

	f.  DD Form 214 for his former comrade-in-arms.

	g.  Letters, dated 10 and 12 August 2007, from his wife recounting how she had not heard from him for a while in 1968, only to learn from him that he had been wounded in December 1968.

	h.  A Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) surgical pathology report for a procedure done on 9 December 2005 to remove a ganglion cyst.

	i.  A VA Form 21-4142 stating that Sutton Medical Clinic, Sutton, NE x-rayed his left hand on 29 August 2006 and found "schrapnel" [sic].

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests same as above

2.  Counsel states same as above

3.  Counsel provides same as above.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) for 2 years on 12 March 1968.  Following Basic Combat and Infantry Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lewis, WA, he was sent to Vietnam where he served as a rifleman with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division from 2 August 1968 to 8 July 1969.

2.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant’s DD Form 214, dated 11 March 1970, does not show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows a blank entry.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show award of the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant's records do not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
5.  The applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

6.  The applicant's medical records are not available for review with this case.

7.  During the processing of this case, a member for the Board staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command (HRC), which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973.  This review failed to reveal any Purple Heart orders on file for the applicant.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart (PH) is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that:  (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the wound required medical treatment by medical personnel; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The Daily Staff Journal extract provided by the applicant only shows, in effect, that on 11 December 1968, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry suffered casualties when "four personnel [were] hit by booby trap."  However, none of the casualties are identified by name.

3.  The applicant provided documents from a former comrade-in-arms who stated he remembers the applicant being one of two men wounded by a booby trap during the second week of December 1968.  He further stated the applicant was treated by medics in the field and was not evacuated for further treatment and was unable to "pursue followup [for a Purple Heart]" due to the operational tempo.

4.  The applicant's other evidence – reminisces from his wife about events of 40 years ago, and DVA records – are not dispositive in the matter of his entitlement to a Purple Heart.  In order to be entitled to a Purple Heart, the applicant must provide substantiating evidence to fulfill each of the following three requirements:  (1) that he was wounded as a result of hostile action; (2) that the wound required treatment by medical personnel; and (3) that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

5.  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 this requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__X_____  ___X____  ___X___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation.  The applicant is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, having participated in three campaigns and awarded two awards of the Army Commendation Medal, one of which was for valor.  He is a recipient of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.



      _________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)                                         AR20080006171



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006171



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