IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  	  13 January 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080016099 


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, the father of the former service member (FSM), requests his late son be awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained while serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the FSM is entitled to the Purple Heart based upon documents the government provided him when the FSM died. 

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the FSM's DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty), a copy of a military pay voucher, a copy of an AF IMT 3899 (Patient Movement Record), a copy of a Serious Incident Report Summary Sheet, and the FSM's death certificate in support of this application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM's record shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 25 August 2005. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman).  The highest rank he attained while serving on active duty was specialist (SPC).  He was posthumously advanced to corporal (CPL). 

2.  Section V (Pertinent Clinical History (Transfer Summary)) of the FSM's 
AF IMT 3899, dated 10 July 2007, shows he sustained a fracture of his right radical shaft on 14 June 2007, when a .50-caliber machine gun fell on his forearm while on combat patrol.  This document does not show the injury was the result of hostile action.  Section II (Medication Orders) of the Patient Movement Physician Orders dated 11 July 2007 also show the FSM sustained a right displaced mid-shaft radius fracture on 14 June 2007 when a .50 caliber machine gun fell on him during a combat patrol.  This section does not show the injury was the result of hostile action.  Section III (Other Orders) also show the FSM was approved for evacuation to CONUS (continental United States) for convalescence and rehabilitation on 10 July 2007. 
3.  The William Beaumont Warrior Transition Battalion, Fort Bliss, Texas, Serious Incident Report Summary Sheet, dated 22 December 2007, states that at approximately 0227 hours on 22 December 2007, while on leave from his assignment at the William Beaumont Warrior Transition Battalion in Fort Bliss, Texas the FSM was involved in a single car MVA (motor vehicle accident) traveling east bound on Loop 375.  The report continues to state that the initial investigation by the El Paso police department indicated the FSM lost control of his vehicle and struck a guard rail, his vehicle then traveled into the median where he was ejected from the car.  The car continued to travel into the on-coming traffic and struck the opposing guard rail, returned to the median and struck the FSM.  It was believed the FSM was not wearing a seat belt and that he was traveling at a high rate of speed.  The Incident Report Summary Sheet also states the FSM was evacuated from Iraq on 12 July 2007, for injuries sustained in combat.
4.  The applicant submitted a Report of Casualty prepared 28 December 2007, which shows in item 4 (Casualty Information) the FSM was fatally injured in a non-hostile accident on 22 December 2007 in El Paso, Texas.  
5.  The applicant submitted a copy of a Certification of Vital Record, El Paso County, Death Certificate dated 8 January 2008, which shows the immediate cause of the FSM's death was multiple blunt force injuries.  Item 41 (describe how injuries occurred) show the FSM's injuries occurred as the result of a single motor vehicle accident.  

6.  The applicant submitted a copy of a Military Pay Voucher paid on 17 June 2008, which shows in remarks that the FSM was deceased, the father due money returned, and "combat injury pay" in the amount of $901.74. 

7.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

8.  Combat-related Injury and Rehabilitation Pay, as established by Section 328, Title 37, United States Code, as amended, provides for special pay to a member of the armed forces who, while in the line of duty, incurs a wound, injury, or illness in a combat operation or combat zone designated by the Secretary of Defense and is evacuated from the theater of the combat operation or from the combat zone for medical treatment.
 
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contentions that the FSM is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for injuries received in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom was carefully considered.

2.  Evidence of record confirms that the FSM was injured during his deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom when a .50-caliber machine gun fell on him while on patrol.  The applicant did not submit nor does the FSM's record show that the FSM was wounded or injured as a result of any hostile action or that he was treated for wounds received in hostile action.  Evidence of record shows the applicant was fatally injured as a result of an automobile accident 6 months later, while he was assigned to a unit at Fort Bliss, Texas.  In the absence of such evidence, there is insufficient basis to grant award of the Purple Heart in this case.

3.  The applicant submitted documents showing the FSM was injured in combat while in a combat zone and was ultimately evacuated from a combat zone for treatment of those injuries; however, these documents do not show the FSM was injured as a result of hostile action.  Therefore, regrettably, these documents are insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart.  

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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the FSM 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)                                         AR20080016099



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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


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