IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	        17 September 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080011100 


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 injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Iraq on 25 November 2005.

3.  The applicant provides:

	a.  A 27 May 2008 self-authored letter to the Commander, US Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria, VA.

	b.  Five pages of medical documents created by the 86th Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq.

	c.  An undated, unsigned, unofficial "Hostile Fire Report."

	d.  A copy of an unsworn DA Form 2823 (Sworn Statement) from the applicant's former platoon leader in Iraq, dated 4 July 2007.

	e.  A copy of a VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim), dated 14 March 2008, and written by a former comrade-in-arms who was present on 25 November 2005.

	f.  A copy of a 2-page Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Consultation Sheet, dated 12 February 2008, for traumatic brain injury (TBI).

	g.  DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty) for the period 16 August 2004 through 8 February 2006, and showing service in Kuwait/Iraq from 29 January 2005 through 13 January 2006.

	h.  Permanent Orders # 317-39, Headquarters, 3rd Infantry Division, Baghdad, Iraq, dated 13 November 2005, awarding the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) for action occurring on 12 August 2005.  Also attached is the DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) from the Commander, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry requesting the applicant be awarded the CIB.

	i.  Permanent Orders 354-556, Headquarters, US Army Air defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss, Fort Bliss, TX, dated 20 December 2004, directing unit travel to Iraq, with attached manifest.

	j.  Orders 015-0006, Headquarters, US Army Air defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss, Fort Bliss, TX, dated 15 January 2006, releasing the applicant from active duty, not by reason of physical disability.

	k.  California Army National Guard (CAARNG) Form 600-2R (Request for Discharge of Enlisted Members), dated 19 June 1999 [sic], requesting the applicant's discharge by reason of retirement, effective 9 June 2006.

	l.  DA Form 4187 requesting retirement.

	m.  Letter, dated 16 June 2008, from the Military Order of the Purple Heart to the Army Review Boards Agency supporting the applicant's claim for the Purple Heart.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant was a member of the CAARNG.  He served as a sergeant (SGT/E-5) in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Infantryman).  He was honorably discharged on 9 June 2006 and transferred to the Retired Reserve with 23 years, 7 months, and 27 days of total service for retired pay.

2.  The applicant last served on active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 16 August 2004 through 8 February 2006, with service in Iraq during the period 29 January 2005 through 13 January 2006.

3.  At 1000 hours, 25 November 2005, the applicant was involved in an IED blast. He was transported to the 86th Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad, arriving at 1015 hours, 25 November 2005.  Medical documents reveal:

	a.  His chief complaint was the IED Blast.

	b.  His vital signs were good – temperature, 98.5; blood pressure, 136/74; breathing was unlabored; he was alert and oriented; his eardrums were intact.

	c.  He was diagnosed with a sore left shoulder and a thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) of the trapezius muscle [a bruise].

	d.  He was treated with morphine, 5mg; valium 2.5mg; and toradol 30mg [toradol is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID].

	e.  He was given 72 hours of rest in quarters.

4.  The supporting documents submitted by the applicant indicate that, when the blast occurred, the applicant was knocked unconscious, but came to at the scene and, thereafter, seemed dazed.

5.  The applicant's name appears on the Iraq casualty database maintained by the US Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria.  The entry recounts the information listed above, but does not show he was awarded a Purple Heart.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Purple Heart and states:

	a.  The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.  It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders Number 3 in 1932.  It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.

	b.  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.

	c.  In Iraq, general officers who have troops committed to combat and hospital commanders (not field hospital commanders) who receive casualties, have the authority to award the Purple Heart to Soldiers who are wounded as a direct result of enemy action.  Examples of enemy-related injuries that qualify for the Purple Heart include bullet or projectile wounds, concussions caused by explosions and wounds resulting from vehicle or aircraft accidents caused by enemy fire.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant was injured by an IED blast in Iraq on 25 November 2005.  He provides medical documentation from the 86th Combat Support Hospital which shows only that he sustained a bruised left shoulder.  He was given pain medication and a tranquilizer and placed on 72 hours rest in quarters.  The medical documents do not support a diagnosis of TBI, or even that he lost consciousness as a result of the IED blast.

3.  The applicant's supporting documentation from former comrades-in-arms is dated well after the incident and the accounts cannot be verified, sworn statements being unsworn and unit reports being undated, unsigned, and otherwise unofficial.

4.  It is noted the applicant was never processed for award of a Purple Heart; there is no DA Form 4187 from his unit to the general officer in his chain of command requesting he be awarded a Purple Heart.  However, the applicant's unit seemed to have had a viable awards program based on evidence that he was immediately recommended for a CIB following a firefight in August 2005.  This begs the question why no request for a Purple Heart can be located.

5.  It appears the applicant's injury was not sufficient to warrant a request for the Purple Heart, or if such request was made, not sufficient in the eyes of the general officer approving authority to warrant approval.

6.  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

__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)                                         AR20080011100



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080011100



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