IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  	  16 December 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080015878 


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, in effect, reconsideration of his request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was hit in the right knee by debris from an enemy mortar round when his unit came under attack on 21 March 1967 near Suoi Tre in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN).

3.  The applicant provides a one-page letter from his daughter, Tracy H____ B___, undated.

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 AR20070017682, on 20 March 2008.

2.  The applicant’s military service records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 14 December 1965.  Upon completion of basic combat training and advanced individual training, he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

3.  The applicant's military personnel records contain a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record).  It shows, in pertinent part, that:

	a.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) shows he served overseas in U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) in the RVN from 22 September 1966 through 16 September 1967;

	b.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows, in pertinent part, he was assigned to Company A, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division (USARPAC RVN) from 22 September 1966 through 23 March 1967.  He was then assigned to Company B, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade (USARPAC RVN) from 24 March 1967 until his departure from the RVN on 16 September 1967 when he returned to the continental United States;

	c.  Item 40 (Wounds) is absent an entry; and

   d.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) fails to show he was authorized award of the Purple Heart.

4.  There is no medical documentation in the applicant’s military service records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  There is also no evidence that the applicant was admitted to a military hospital at any time during his tour of duty in the RVN.  In addition, a review of The Adjutant General Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty roster confirmed that the applicant’s name is not listed on the roster.

5.  A thorough review of the applicant’s military service records revealed that there are no orders in the applicant’s records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.  In addition, a search of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System for the Vietnam Conflict failed to produce orders showing award of the Purple Heart to the applicant for wounds received in action in Vietnam.

6.  The applicant's military personnel records contain a DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) with an effective date of 20 September 1967 and DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 3 October 2008.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), as corrected by the DD Form 215, shows he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal; Presidential Unit Citation; Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation; Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation; Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle, Machinegun, and Grenade Launcher Bars; and Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Pistol Bar.  The DD Form 214 also shows the applicant was honorably released from active duty on 20 September 1967 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining military service obligation.  At the time, he was credited with completing 1 year, 9 months, and 7 days of net active service this period and 11 months and 28 days of foreign service.

7.  In support of his request for reconsideration, the applicant provides a one-page letter from his daughter.  She attests to her father’s dedication and service to his country during the Vietnam War and contends he sustained an injury in March 1967 while serving in Vietnam.  She also states that her father was hurt, homesick, and very angry as he lay in a hospital bed while his friends and brothers were fighting and, in his mind, "not accepting that Purple Heart was the right thing to do."  His daughter states that, "if you look at all the paperwork, you will see that he was in fact in a hospital due to an injury that he got during a firefight and he was in fact never awarded the Purple Heart."  She adds that in 1997 the applicant began the long healing process to come to terms with an illness (i.e., Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) they had no idea that he had.  His daughter concludes by requesting award of the Purple Heart to her father to correct this oversight and terrible injustice.

8.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

9.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards), in effect at the time, in pertinent part, provided for award of the Purple Heart.  The regulation stated that authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders.  Further, it directed that all personnel treated and released within 24 hours will be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to which the individual is assigned.  Personnel requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam will be awarded the Purple Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.

10.  Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR.  This regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends, in effect, his request for award of the Purple Heart should be reconsidered based on new evidence he presents, in the form of a letter from his daughter, asserting that the applicant was hit in the right knee by debris from an enemy mortar round when his unit came under attack on 21 March 1967 near Suoi Tre in the RVN.

2.  The applicant’s claim that his right knee was injured by debris from an enemy mortar round when his unit came under attack on 21 March 1967 near Suoi Tre in the RVN was carefully considered.  It is noted that in the original consideration of the applicant’s case, both his former platoon leader and a fellow Soldier stated that the applicant remained with his unit after the firefight on 21 March 1967 and that the applicant was transferred to another unit after the firefight.  Neither the platoon leader’s nor the fellow Soldier’s statement indicate that the applicant was medically evacuated to an Army hospital in Vung Tau or any other Army hospital.  However, in this request for reconsideration, the applicant’s daughter contends that the applicant was admitted to a hospital as a result of an injury he received during a firefight in March 1967.  Thus, it is clear that the statements submitted in support of the applicant’s claim to the Purple Heart offer distinctly different descriptions of the circumstances and events at the time when the applicant contends he was injured by debris from a mortar round.  In this regard, it is noted that the applicant provides no official documentary evidence pertaining to the injury (e.g., battle casualty report, medical treatment record(s), etc.) in either his original request or this request for reconsideration.

3.  There is no evidence in the applicant’s military personnel records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action; his DA Form 20 does not show an entry in item 40 or list the Purple Heart in item 41; the applicant's name is not listed on The Adjutant General Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty roster; and there are no orders in the applicant’s military personnel records or in the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System that show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  In addition, there is no evidence in the applicant’s military service records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action, the wound required treatment, or that such medical treatment was made a matter of official record.  In view of all of the foregoing, there is insufficient basis for awarding the Purple Heart to the applicant in this case.



4.  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

____X____  ___X____  ____X____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 AR20070017682, dated 20 March 2008.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.



      ___________X______________
                 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)                                         AR20080015878



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080015878



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