IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 05 MARCH 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080018639
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 his request for a second award of the Purple Heart (PH with first oak leave cluster (1OLC)).
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in the right arm on 3 July 1966 when his unit (B Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment) encountered a battalion-sized North Vietnamese Army (NVA) force. After 3 or 4 hours of fighting, a rescue force of armored personnel carriers (APCs) arrived to evacuate them to a landing zone and the APC he boarded was hit by an enemy rocket propelled grenade (RPG), which resulted in his being burned and receiving fragmentation wounds. He continues by stating that he boarded another APC and finally was evacuated; however, he did not receive two awards of the PH. He also states that another member who was with him at the time and had identical wounds which included a gunshot and burn wounds from the APC, subsequently was awarded two awards of the PH.
3. The applicant provides a letter from a member of his unit who received two awards of the PH for the same engagement, a copy of a letter from a member of his unit who received the Distinguished Service Cross for the same engagement, a copy of a Western Union telegram, and a copy of a letter he wrote to one of the individuals who served with him in Vietnam and who received two PHs.
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 AR20050008062 on 31 January 2006.
2. The evidence of record shows that on 3 July 1966, while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment as a gunner in the rank of private first class (PFC), the applicant sustained a gunshot wound to the elbow in action against the enemy. He also sustained burns and fragment wounds incurred while a passenger in a personnel carrier that was struck by enemy anti-tank fire. He was treated at the 85th Evacuation Hospital and was awarded the PH on 9 July 1966. He was subsequently evacuated to the 106th General Hospital in Japan.
3. On 12 October 1966, he was honorably released from active duty at Oakland Army Base, California. His award of the PH was not included on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
4. The applicant was issued a correction document to add the PH to his DD Form 214.
5. In the processing of this case, a staff member of the Board requested the military records of the individual who claims he served with the applicant and was awarded two awards of the PH for the same engagement. A review of those records show that the individual in question was awarded the PH with 1OLC for a gunshot wound to the buttocks on 3 July 1966, while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment and subsequently being burned on the legs, arms and face during evacuation when the APC he was in was hit by an enemy anti-tank weapon and caught fire. He was subsequently medically evacuated and retired by reason of permanent physical disability. The United States Army Human Resources Command - Alexandria (Military Awards Branch) awarded that individual the PH with 1OLC on 1 December 2005.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the PH 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Not more than one award will be made for more than one wound or injury received at the same instant or from the same missile, force, explosion or agent.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention that he is entitled to award of the PH with 1OLC has been noted and appears to have merit.
2. The applicant was initially wounded in combat that resulted in a bullet wound to the right arm and during his evacuation, he was subsequently wounded by shrapnel and burned when his evacuation vehicle was hit by enemy rocket fire. Accordingly, his wounds were not in the same instant or from the same missile and thus qualify for multiple awards of the PH.
3. It is also noted that another individual who served with the applicant and suffered multiple wounds/injuries during the same incident and in the same manner has been awarded the PH with 1OLC by the Department of the Army. Therefore, as a matter of equity, the applicant should also be awarded the PH with 1OLC for wounds received in actions against the enemy in Vietnam on 3 July 1966.
BOARD VOTE:
___X_____ ___X_____ ___X_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMRs decision in Docket Number AR20050008062, dated 31 January 2006. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the PH with 1OLC for wounds received in actions against the enemy in Vietnam on
3 July 1966, while serving in the rank of PFC.
_______ _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.
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080018639
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