IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 10 February 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080016574
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 he be awarded the Purple Heart and that it be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
2. The applicant states, in effect, he was driving an armored personnel carrier (APC) near Cu Chi, Vietnam. The APC struck a land mine and the explosion blew him up out of his drivers seat and partially out of the drivers hatch. He cut his shoulder going up, and then struck his chin on the hatch opening while coming back down. He was treated by medics in the field and remained with his vehicle until it was towed back to base camp. He did not go to the hospital and no official record was made of his wounding.
3. The applicant provides:
a. two notarized witness statements from former comrades-in-arms, dated 12 July 2008 and 23 August 2008, attesting to the fact the applicant was wounded while driving an APC that struck a mine;
b. a portion of an unidentified, undated form, possibly used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish claims for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), explaining the incident with the APC and the land mine; and
c. page 13 of 36 from a website http://www.bobcat.ws/history1967.htm showing that, on 30 March 1967, an APC from Recon(naissance) Platoon detonated an anti-tank mine at coordinates XT278914.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States for 2 years on 6 October 1965. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
2. On or about 15 July 1966, the applicant was transferred with his unit, Company A, 3d Battalion, 1st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, to Vietnam. He served with that unit as a mechanized infantryman until on or about 24 December 1966, when he was transferred to 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. On or about 13 July 1967 he was returned to the United States and separated the next day at Oakland, California.
3. There are no records indicating the applicants entitlement to the Purple Heart.
a. There are no medical records available to show that he was treated for a wound. The applicant, himself, states he was never treated at an aid station or at a hospital.
b. There are no orders awarding him the Purple Heart; the Purple Heart is always awarded on either unit or hospital orders.
c. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
d. The applicants name is not on the Vietnam casualty list, a comprehensive list of all casualties during the Vietnam War.
e. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the U.S. Army Military Awards Branch of the United States Army, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any Purple Heart orders on file for the applicant.
4. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action and requires substantiating evidence that the wound was the result of hostile action, that the wound required treatment by military medical personnel, and the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
2. There are no orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart and his records do not contain evidence that he was ever wounded in action. Further, his name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty list, nor does ADCARS contain any Purple Heart orders in his name.
3. The applicants statement and the statements of his former comrades-in-arms were thoroughly reviewed. While the Board does not question the sincerity of these statements, by themselves and without corroborating evidence, they are insufficient to establish entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.
4. 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.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___X____ ___X____ ___X____ 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) AR20080016574
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080016574
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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