IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 1 July 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080007111
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 that he sustained serious bodily injuries which were incurred in the line of duty while involved in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He contends that he was evacuated and the full extent of his injuries was not communicated to his assigned unit and that he was in several Army hospitals.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); deployment orders; a DA Form 2173 (Statement of Medical examination and Duty Status), dated 21 October 2003; a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) Narrative Summary; MEB Proceedings; and service medical records.
COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:
1. The Disabled American Veterans, as counsel for the applicant, points out that the applicant served on active service from 15 March 2003 to 1 July 2004 and that his injuries resulted from a high-speed impact while in the middle of a dust storm in the desert which contributed to his cervical spine condition and chronic migraine headaches. Counsel contends that the applicants injuries warrant consideration for award of the Purple Heart since they were sustained while in the theater of war.
2. Counsel provides a statement, dated 19 May 2008.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicants failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicants failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.
2. Having prior inactive and active service, the applicant was ordered to active duty from the U.S. Army Reserve on 15 March 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He served in Kuwait and Iraq from 15 May 2003 to 27 July 2003. On 1 July 2004, he was released from active duty and placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List the following day.
3. The applicants DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
5. The applicant provided a DA Form 2173, dated 21 October 2003, which states that he injured his head and neck on 27 July 2003 while mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom. He was a passenger in a van that was hit by a tractor trailer in Kuwait.
6. The applicant also provided a MEB Narrative Summary which states, in pertinent part, that he was in a motor vehicle accident on 24 July 2003 when his vehicle was rear ended in a relatively high speed collision in the middle of a dust storm in Kuwait.
7. 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 by military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. The regulation states that when contemplating an award of this decoration, 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
Medical evidence of record shows the applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident on 24 July 2003 in Kuwait, not as a result of hostile action. There is no evidence in the applicant's service personnel record which shows that he was wounded or injured a result of hostile action in Kuwait. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to amend his DD Form 214 to show award of the Purple Heart.
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) AR20080007111
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080007111
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120018508
The sworn statement he provided shows the convoy was hit with RPG's after the collision. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows: * injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action * injury caused by enemy-placed mine or trap *...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050001568C070206
Member Ms. Carol A. Kornhoff Member The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. The applicant provided a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care), dated 9 October 2003, which shows the applicant was treated for a puncture wound on his thumb, an injury sustained during an IED attack. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding him...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050001568C070206
The applicant requests correction of his records to show award of the Purple Heart. The applicant provided a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care), dated 9 October 2003, which shows the applicant was treated for a puncture wound on his thumb, an injury sustained during an IED attack. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart, for wounds received in action on 9...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140005384
The applicant provides: * Email exchanged with HRC officials * Multiple applications and responses from this Board * Reconstructed DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action), dated July 2012 * Multiple letters from HRC * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 7 October 2006 * Disability retirement orders, dated 13 November 2013 * Enlisted Record Brief and DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) * Reconstructed DA Forms 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080016735
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 26 February 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080016735 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant provides a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); an unauthenticated DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action); a DA Form 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status), dated 26 September 2004; a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care), dated 23 September 2004; an undated DA Form 2823 (Sworn Statement); a DA...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110009757
The applicant requests to be awarded the Purple Heart for an injury he sustained while serving in Saudi Arabia on 19 March 1991. The applicant requests to be awarded the Purple Heart for an injury he sustained while serving in Saudi Arabia on 19 March 1991. In order to support award of the Purple Heart, there must be evidence confirming the wound/injury for which the award is being made was received as a direct result of or was caused by enemy action, the wound/injury must have been...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080014076
The applicant states, in effect, that he should have been awarded the Purple Heart after his convoy was attacked on 7 December 2003 in Abu Ghraib, Iraq leaving him with permanent hearing damage. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), DA Form 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status), DD Form 2215E (Reference Audiogram), DA Form 2823 (Sworn Statement) in support of his application. There is no evidence in the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080019118
In the processing of the LOD, a statement was provided by an officer who stated that he was the medical officer who provided care to the applicant for his back injury following a mortar attack on his forward operating base (FOB) on 4 September 2003. The statement from the medical officer who provided care to the applicant for his back injury following a mortar attack on 4 September 2003 has been carefully considered. In the absence of medical records showing that the applicant was provided...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130011940
An LOD was completed on a DA Form 2173 stating the applicant sustained an injury to his ribs due to an IED blast. He was returned to duty on 20 June 2007. By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish the Soldier was wounded in action, the wound required treatment by a medical officer, and the treatment record must have been made a matter of official record.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | 20060014765
The applicant requests correction of his military records to show award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in Iraq. The applicant states that on 6 November 2003, he received an injury to his right ankle from an improvised explosive device when it detonated while he was clearing a road in Iraq. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding him the Purple Heart for injuries received as a result of...