IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  13 November 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080012209 


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 an earlier appeal that his records show award of the Purple Heart.  As a new issue, he also requests promotion to Specialist Four (SP4)/E-4.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded twice during firefights while on guard duty in December 1966 and January 1967.  He further states that he should have been promoted to the rank and grade of SP4/E-4 based on his service in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), with the period ending 15 September 1967; a letter of support from a friend, date stamped 14 March 1967; and an 7-page Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 10-1000 (Discharge Summary), dated 8 January 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 AR2003091933, on 
2 March 2004.



2.  The applicant was inducted on 16 September 1965 and successfully completed basic training and advanced individual training.  He was awarded military occupational specialty 51N (Water Supply Specialist).  He arrived in Vietnam on or about 12 April 1966 and was assigned to Headquarters Company, 39th Engineer Battalion.  On 27 April 1966, he was promoted the rank and grade of Private First Class (permanent) (PFC (P)/E-3.  There are no orders in the applicant's records that show he was promoted to the rank of SP4.

3.  The applicant was reassigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 577th Engineer Battalion on or about 16 October 1966.  

4.  The applicant submitted a letter, postmarked 14 March 1967, from a friend.  The author stated, in effect, that he had not heard from the applicant for a long time.  The author asked the applicant if he had finally gotten his Purple Heart.

5.  He departed Vietnam on 11 April 1967.  On 15 September 1967, the applicant was honorably released from active duty.

6.  The applicant's DD Form 214, with the period ending 15 September 1967, item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), does not show award of the Purple Heart.  Item 5a (Grade, Rate, or Rank) of his DD Form 214 shows the rank of PFC (P).  Item 5b (Pay Grade) shows the pay grade of 
E-3.  Item 6 (Date of Rank) shows the entry "27 Apr 66."

7.  There are no general orders in the applicant’s service personnel records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in his service personnel records that shows that he was treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.  The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.  

8.  The applicant provided a 7-page VA Form 10-1000, dated 8 January 2008, which shows he was admitted and treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  The document further shows that the applicant stated, "He had a narrow escape from death in a close by mortar explosion.  In that explosion he suffered shrapnel injuries to shoulders and further felt traumatized by the fact that he fell face down into a wet Vietnamese grave with dead bodies."

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
10.  Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), in effect at the time, governed policy and criteria concerning promotion to pay grades E-4 through E-6.  Promotion quota allocations were required.  It stated that promotion authority to promote to the pay grade of E-4 was delegated to company, troop, battery, and separate detachment commanders.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's claim of entitlement to the Purple Heart was carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support this contention.  By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was injured in action, that the injury required treatment by a medical officer, and the treatment record must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The evidence provided by the applicant does not confirm he was injured in action.  His record is void of any documentary evidence that shows he was treated for a wound sustained in action.  His name is not included on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

3.  Lacking any corroborating evidence of record showing that the applicant was treated for a wound/injury that was the direct result of or caused by enemy action, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been satisfied in this case.  

4.  The applicant contends that he should have been promoted to the rank of SP4 based on his service in Vietnam.  However, there is no evidence in his military records that shows he was recommended for promotion to SP4 and approved by the promotion authority.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 with the ending period 15 September 1967, which shows he was promoted on 27 April 1966 to the rank of PFC (P)/E-3, appears to be correct.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____X____  ____X____  ____X____  DENY APPLICATION



BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  In regards to the applicant’s request for reconsideration for adding the Purple Heart to his military records, 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 AR2003091933, dated 2 March 2004.

2.  In regards to the applicant's request for promotion to SP4/E-4, 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)                                         AR20080012209





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080012209



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