IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	       19 August 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080010304 


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 reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Gold Star (unit or individual award).  He requests the citations for all the awards that were added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) (i.e., for the Valorous Unit Award, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and for his first Army Commendation Medal).  

2.  The applicant states he is not pleased with the fact that he will have to purchase the Vietnamese medals if he wants them.  The Government that gave the order (to go to Vietnam) should provide the medals that were awarded.  

3.  The applicant states he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross (no Palm Unit Citation), which is a higher level and individual award.  He was told the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Gold Star Unit Citation was given to all personnel involved in combat actions in Cambodia.

4.  The applicant states that he was treated (for his wounds) on the landing zone, and records maintenance was not their strong point.  Their rosters were not always up-to-date.  If the line numbers were not correct, he would not show up on the casualty report and Mr. D___ would.  The applicant states that he knows Mr. D___ told many people in the Battery he (Mr. D___) had never been 

wounded, and the applicant knows that Mr. D___ was not wounded.  It should be easy for personnel from the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to verify if Mr. D___ is listed.  The applicant states he has no idea how to get those records or how to contact Mr. D___.  

5.  The applicant states that he was originally told by the forward observer on the landing zone that he was to be awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for his actions that night.  He does not want to go into more detail as it would serve no purpose, and it still bothers and depresses him.  He only includes this to clarify why he did not find out about the Purple Heart and why he was so bitter and did not try to correct the mistake sooner.  He was not seriously injured, but he was more seriously injured than many people he knew who received the Purple Heart.

6.  The applicant states that there just does not appear to have been a very thorough investigation of the facts he originally presented.  He knows he was the person wounded.  His Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records show “Scars consistent with history of shrapnel injury.”  If it is not the ABCMR’s job to help and assist him, then he requests the ABCMR give him an idea of who is and he will contact them.

7.  The applicant provides VA Progress Notes, printed on 19 February 2008; and a VA Rating Decision, dated 15 April 2008.

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 AR20070004849 on 28 August 2007.

2.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 2 June 1969.  He served in Vietnam from 14 November 1969 through 8 December 1970.  He was honorably released from active duty on 9 December 1970.

3.  There are no orders in the applicant’s records to show he was awarded the Purple Heart, and his name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.  There are no orders or other documentation in his records to show he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Gold Star either as a unit award or as an individual award.


4.  The applicant provided VA Progress Notes that stated, reference to several scars on his arms, that the scars were consistent with a history of shrapnel injury.

5.  The applicant provided a VA Rating Decision, dated 15 April 2008, that shows he was denied service-connection for shell fragment wounds to his left chest, left side, and left arm.  In reference to all three claimed wounds, the Rating Decision noted that a complete review of the applicant’s service treatment records failed to reveal any complaint, treatment, or diagnosis relative to shell fragment wounds and that his release from active duty physical examination, dated 8 December 1970, failed to provide any abnormality relative to shell fragment wounds. 

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states foreign decorations received which have been tendered in recognition of active field service in connection with combat operations or which have been awarded for outstanding or unusually meritorious performance may be accepted and worn upon receiving the approval of Headquarters, Department of the Army.  In the absence of such approval, the decoration will become the property of the United States and will be deposited with Headquarters, Department of the Army for use or disposal.

8.  Army Regulation 15-185 provides Department of the Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions regarding an applicant’s request for the correction of a military record.  In pertinent parts, it states the ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record.  It is not an investigative body.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, the VA documentation provided by the applicant is still insufficient to provide the basis for awarding him the Purple Heart.  The VA Progress Notes indicated that several scars on his arms were consistent with a history of shrapnel injury; however, the VA Rating Decision noted that a complete review of his service treatment records failed to reveal any complaint, treatment, or diagnosis relative to shell fragment wounds and that his release from active duty physical examination failed to provide any abnormality relative to shell fragment wounds.  Regrettably, the VA Progress Notes fail to verify that the scars he had were the result of enemy action in Vietnam.  

2.  There is still no evidence to show that the applicant was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Gold Star either as a unit award or as an individual award.

3.  The applicant requested the citations for all the awards that were added to his DD Form 214 (i.e., for the Valorous Unit Award, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and for his first Army Commendation Medal).  Unfortunately, those citations/certificates, if they were ever prepared, are not available in his records.  The Board cannot provide the applicant something that is not available to the Board.  He might want to contact either the National Archives in College Park, MD (which might have a citation or certificate for the Army Commendation Medal, but probably not for any of the other awards) or the U. S. Army Human Resources Command, Personnel Service Support Division (Awards Branch), 200 Stovall Street, Room 3S67, Alexandria, VA  22332-0405 (which might have citations for the unit awards, but probably not for the Army Good Conduct Medal or the Army Commendation Medal).

4.  It is regrettable that the applicant is not pleased with the fact that he will have to purchase the Vietnamese medals if he wants them.  However, it was not the U. S. Government that awarded the medals and regrettably it does not have the medals to issue.

5.  The applicant stated that there just does not appear to have been a very thorough investigation of the facts he originally presented.  It is regrettable that he feels that way.  However, the ABCMR is not an investigative agency and the ABCMR must decide cases on the evidence of record or on the evidence provided by the applicant.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___xx___  ___xx___  ___xx___  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 AR2000004849 dated 28 August 2007.



      ________xxxx__________
               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)                                         AR20080010304



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080010304



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