IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	        31 July 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080010600 


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 previous request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he obtained copies of his service medical records from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) which proves he was shot.

3.  The applicant provides:
	
	a.  SF 501 (Clinical Record – History Part I), 93rd Evacuation Hospital (93rd Evac), Long Bihn, Republic of Vietnam, dated 24 April 1966, stating he was involved in a truck accident [emphasis added] and suffered a broken left arm and had pain in his "left anterior chest."

	b.  SF 516 (Clinical Record – Operation Report), 93rd Evac, dated 25 April 1966, stating open fracture of the left humerus was debrided and a splint was applied.  It also states a wound on the right forearm was irrigated and dressed.

	c.  SF 516 (Clinical Record – Operation Report), 93rd Evac, illegible date, stating a decision was made to leave the left arm wound open; however, the right arm wound was closed with #34 wire.

	d.  SF 501 (Clinical Record – Doctor's Progress Notes), 93rd Evac, dated
25-29 April 1966, stating possible internal injuries after originally being admitted with an open fracture of the left humerus and a laceration of the right forearm [emphasis added].
	e.  SF 522 (Authorization for Administration of Anesthesia and for Performance of Operations and Other Procedures), 93rd Evac, dated 30 April 1966, for a thoracentesis in order to resolve a pleural effusion.

	f.  SF 501 (Clinical Record – Doctor's Progress Notes), 93rd Evac, dated 2 May 1966, stating thoracentesis removed 500cc of bloody fluid.

	g.  SF 506 (Clinical Record – Physical Examination), location unknown, dated 2 or 8 May 1966, discussing traumatic wounds [emphasis added] to left and right arms.

	h.  SF 516 (Clinical Record – Operation Report), US Army Hospital (USAH), Camp Zama, Japan, dated 3 May 1966, describing gunshot wound, left arm with fracture of humerus (missile wound) [emphasis added].

	i.  SF 516 (Clinical Record – Operation Report), USAH Camp Zama, dated 2 June 1966, stating open reduction of fracture of the left humerus with plate fixation and bone grafting obtained from right iliac crest.

	j.  SF 515 (Clinical Record – Tissue Examination), USAH Camp Zama, dated 2 June 1966, stating that a pathologist examined tissue removed during the above open reduction.  The brief clinical history indicates "Pt. post GSW humerus – Fx" or "Patient post gunshot wound humerus fracture."

	k.  DVA document, VA Hospital, Houston, TX, dated 2 December 1971, stating the applicant suffered a gunshot wound in Vietnam in 1966 which fractured his left humerus.  It also states the applicant sustained a "wound of his coccyx" 

	l.  Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings, AR20070004076, dated 19 September 2007.

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 AR20070004076 on 19 September 2007.

2.  The applicant submitted medical evidence not previously reviewed by the Board, thus warranting reconsideration.

3.  The evidence of record clearly shows the applicant was involved in a motor vehicle accident in Vietnam on 24 April 1966.  He was taken to the 93rd Evac Hospital, Long Bihn, where he was diagnosed as having an open fracture of the left arm, a laceration of the right arm, and internal injuries.  While he was at the 93rd Evac Hospital, medical staff attributed all of his injuries to the motor vehicle accident.

4.  Only after the applicant was further evacuated from Vietnam to Japan did medical documents start to mention a gunshot wound.  Doctors at the USAH at Camp Zama stated the applicant suffered a gunshot wound to his left arm which fractured the humerus.  This explanation continued after the applicant was evacuated to the United States for treatment at the DVA Hospital, Houston, TX.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was injured in a traffic accident.  He suffered an open fracture, also known as a compound fracture, of the left arm, and a laceration of the right arm.  An open, or compound, fracture is a fracture in which the bone is sticking through the skin.  A laceration is a cut.  Both may be defined as traumatic wounds.

2.  The first doctors to examine and treat the applicant clearly established that he was the victim of a serious traffic accident, not the victim of a gunshot wound as a result of enemy action.  Only when the applicant became further removed from the battlefield did any mention of gunshot wounds begin to appear in his medical records.  By the time doctors in Japan examined the applicant, his wounds had already been debrided, thereby making any definitive determination of the reason for the wounds difficult at best.  Debridement is the removal of dead, contaminated or adherent tissue or foreign material.  The purpose of wound debridement is to remove all materials that may promote infection and impede healing.  This may be done by enzymatic debridement (as with proteolytic enzymes), mechanical nonselective debridement (as in a whirlpool), or sharp debridement (by surgery).

3.  The applicant does not have orders awarding him the Purple Heart.  The applicant's records were reviewed, the Vietnam casualty File was reviewed, and 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.  These reviews failed to reveal any Purple Heart orders on file for the applicant.  

During the Vietnam War, US Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided for award of the Purple Heart (PH).  It stated that the authority to award the Purple Heart to wounded Soldiers who required hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or medical evacuation from Vietnam was delegated to hospital commanders.  No hospital commander issued such orders because the applicant’s injury was a result of a traffic accident, not as a casualty of enemy action.

4.  This action in no way diminishes the applicant's service to the United States during the Vietnam War.  The applicant and all others concerned should know that he made great sacrifices 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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20070004076, dated 19 September 2007.


															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)                                         AR20080010600



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080010600



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