IN THE CASE OF:	  

	BOARD DATE:	  17 July 2008

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080006932


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 wounded in Cambodia on 24 May 1970 and medically evacuated by helicopter to a field hospital in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant provides:

	a.  A Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) letter dated 20 March 2008 with 2 pages of progress notes dated 5 May 2006 and 17 May 2006.

	b.  A VA Form 10-10 (Medical Certificate and History), dated 4 March 1975, with radiographic report.

	c.  A 19 May 1975 document, presumably from the DVA, diagnosing a shrapnel fragment wound.

	d.  A 17 May 2006 DVA imaging report showing metallic densities consistent with shrapnel foreign bodies.

	e.  A 4 March 1975 DVA Diagnostic Radiology Service report of his left elbow showing a metallic density.

	f.  A 2-page DVA Compensation and Pension Exam Inquiry, printed on 24 July 2006.

	g.  Copies of 2 DD Forms 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).

	h.  A 28 March 2008 County of Wood (Wisconsin) Veterans Service Office listing the above documents as evidence in support of a request for the Purple Heart.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 9 March 1964.  He received Basic Combat Training (BCT) at Fort Leonard Wood, MO and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Sill, OK.  Upon completion of all training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 82C (Field Artillery Surveyor).

2.  The applicant was assigned to Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 17th Artillery in Germany from on/about August 1964 to on/about December 1965.  He then served in Vietnam as a Construction Surveyor (MOS 82B) with Headquarters Company, 87th Engineer Battalion from on/about January 1966 to on/about December 1966.

3.  The applicant was honorably separated and transferred to the US Army Reserve on 15 December 1966.  He had served 2 years, 9 months, and 7 days of creditable active Federal service, and he had 2 years, 3 months, and 19 days of foreign service in Germany and Vietnam.

4.  Following a break in service, the applicant reenlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 23 January 1968.  He did not go through BCT/AIT, but was assigned directly to Headquarters Battery, 25th Infantry Division Artillery in MOS 82C and immediately sent to Vietnam.

5.  The applicant served in Vietnam from on/about 28 January 1968 to on/about 27 August 1970.  

6.  The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not record any wounds in Block 40 (Wounds), nor does it show award of the Purple Heart in Block 41 (Awards and Decorations).

7.  The applicant's medical records are not available for review.

8.  There are no orders in the applicant's records awarding him the Purple Heart. During the processing of this case, a member of 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 order for the Purple Heart on file for the applicant.

9.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

10.  The applicant returned to the United States and was honorably discharged at the US Army personnel Center, Oakland Army base, Oakland, CA on 27 August 1970.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of a Purple Heart.

11.  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; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.  The regulation also provides that there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.  He states he was wounded in Cambodia on 24 May 1970 and medically evacuated from the field by helicopter.

2.  The applicant provides extensive DVA documentation showing metallic densities, consistent with shrapnel wounds, in his left arm.  Unfortunately, there is no explanation of how the wounds occurred.

3.  The applicant's records contain no evidence upon which an award of the Purple Heart may be made.  There are no entries on his DA Form 20 to support award of a Purple Heart; his name is not on the Vietnam Casualty Roster; and there are no orders in the record or in ADCARS to support award of the Purple Heart.

4.  In order to award a Purple Heart, evidence must show that a wound occurred and was the result of hostile action; that the wound required medical treatment; and 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.

6.  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 and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__xxx___  __xxx___  __xxx___  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.



							XXX
       _    _______   ___
       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)                                         AR20080006932



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006932



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