IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  17 March 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080018308 


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, that his social security number (SSN) be corrected and that his request for award of the Purple Heart be reconsidered.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the SSN shown on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) is incorrect.  The number shown is 3**-**-***2.  His social security number is 2**-**-***9.  The applicant also states that he was in the jungles of Vietnam (Tet - 1968).  The jungle rot destroyed his pictures, SSN card, drivers license, and the few dollars he had left in his wallet.

3.  In support of his request, the applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214; an article from an unknown source titled, "Dog Tag Lost During Heavy Fighting at Dak To, Vietnam, is Found Years Later"; a copy of NA Form 13075 (Questionnaire About Military Service), dated 2 September 2008 [a National Archives and Records Administration form]; a copy of Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division, General Orders Number 7981 in which he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal; a copy of a letter he received in reply to an inquiry he submitted to the National Personnel Records Center, dated 11 September 2008; and a copy of Headquarters, Personnel Center, U.S. Army Garrison Troop Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Special Orders Number 128, dated 2 July 1969, which released him from active duty on 3 July 1969 and transferred him to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement).


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 AR20080011098, on 11 September 2008.

2.  The applicant resubmitted some evidence that had previously been considered by the Board.  However, an additional review of all the evidence related to this case revealed information that was not specifically mentioned in the previous proceedings but had significant value, such as the data contained on the Vietnam Casualty List and in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Casualty Information System.  Therefore, the Board will now consider this evidence.

3.  In February 1979, the Office of The Adjutant General prepared and distributed a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty) correcting the SSN shown on the applicant's DD Form 214 from 3**-**-***2 to 2**-**-***9.  This correction was also clearly stated in Item 6 in the Consideration of Evidence section of the Record of Proceedings for Docket Number AR20080011098.  Because this correction has already been accomplished and no further action is required, this issue will not be further discussed in this Proceedings.

4.  Item 40 (Wounds), of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), is blank.  It does not show that he sustained a wound as a result of hostile enemy action.

5.  There is no entry in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant's DA Form 20 showing he was awarded the Purple Heart.

6.  Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.

7.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.  The applicant's name also does not appear on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Casualty Information System which has the names of deceased, wounded or ill or injured Army personnel, including dependents 
and civilian employees, recorded during the period from 1 January 1961 through December 1981.
8.  On 21 and 22 January 1969, the applicant sought medical treatment for a clicking sound in his right knee that he reportedly injured the previous August when he jumped from a helicopter in Vietnam.  There is no evidence on the Standard Form (SF) 513 (Clinical Record - Consultation Sheet) or on the SF 600 (Health Record - Chronological Record of Medical Care) to show this injury was related to hostile action.

9.  An SF 88 (Report of Medical Examination), completed in part by the applicant, during his separation physical examination, on 22 May 1969, shows no entries to indicate that he had sustained any wound in action during his assignment to Vietnam.  On the form was stamped a statement which the applicant completed and signed.  The statement reads, "There has been no change in my physical condition since my last final type medical examination on 1-6 [entry not correlated to any administered physical examination on file in the applicant's records] with following exceptions:  'None.'"  He was qualified for retention/separation based on this medical examination.

10.  An SF 89 (Report of Medical History), completed largely by the applicant during his separation physical examination, on 22 May 1969, shows an indication he had sustained a bone, joint, or other deformity.  An entry appears on the reverse side of the SF 89 which shows he had a "broken collar bone."  No other details were given about when or how the break occurred.  In Item 39 (Physician's Summary and Elaboration of All Pertinent Date) of this form, the physician entered the following statement, Right knee - swelling on occasion since RVN (Republic of Vietnam) injury.  The applicant was qualified for separation based on this medical examination.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of enemy action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile enemy action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

12.  The article from an unknown source titled, "Dog Tag Lost During Heavy Fighting at Dak To, Vietnam, is Found Years Later" describes the recovery of one of the applicant's dog tags reportedly found in an area 5 to 10 klicks [kilometers] 
west of Dak To which the applicant had lost during some heavy fighting.  There is no mention of any Soldier being wounded or killed in action in the article.




DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Purple Heart, substantiating evidence must be presented to show that the Soldier was wounded as the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  There is no evidence in the documents the applicant submitted and resubmitted to indicate he was wounded as the result of hostile enemy action.  
Medical documentation prepared at the time of the applicant's separation physical examination, an SF 88 and an SF 89, are void of an indication he sustained a wound as a result of hostile enemy action while he served in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Listing nor does it appear on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Casualty Information System which has the names of deceased, wounded or ill or injured Army personnel, including dependents and civilian employees, recorded during the period from 1 January 1961 through December 1981.

4.  No entries were made in the applicant's service personnel records to show he was wounded as a result of hostile action and there is no evidence orders were published awarding him the Purple Heart.

5.  Based on the lack of substantiating evidence in this case, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart and to have it added to his DD Form 214.

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20080011098, dated 11 September 2008.



      __________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)                                         AR20080018308



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080018308



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