IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 4 June 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090001391
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 award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he received a shrapnel injury to the back of his head from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion. The physician assistant (PA) and the medic saw him and "fixed it up." He states the PA told him that he was going to recommend him for a Purple Heart. He states that after he returned to the United States, he got out of the Army and he never received the Purple Heart. He was planning to reenlist until the doctors in Germany told him that he had experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from the incident [IED explosion].
3. The applicant provides no additional documents in support of his application.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 22 January 2004. He completed training as an infantryman. His highest grade attained was specialist, E-4.
2. He served in Kuwait from 16 January 2005 to 14 March 2006 and in Iraq from 15 March 2006 to 15 November 2006.
3. The applicant was released from active duty on 21 June 2007. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There are no orders which show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart. There are no medical documents which indicate he was wounded as a result of hostile action. Additionally, the applicants name is not listed on the Casualty Roster among those Soldiers injured during the period the applicant served.
5. 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. Paragraph 2-8b(2) states that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends that he sustained a shrapnel injury to the back of his head as a result of an IED explosion. However, there is no evidence of record to substantiate his claim.
2. By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, that the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and the treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. In the absence of any other corroborating evidence of record which shows that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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.
_______ _ 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) AR20090001391
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090001391
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