IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 May 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090002797
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 the Board's denial of his request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant outlines the events that transpired on the day he was injured. He states that when his unit had reached a nighttime ambush location, the men of his unit formed a line in which ammunition was passed up to the ambush location. In the process, "a flare was either dropped with the detonator fixed to fire or during a transfer of some sort, a flare was detonated." This flare wounded the applicant in the leg.
3. The applicant then details some of the accomplishments of his unit and details his attempts to have a Purple Heart awarded to him. He also states that the flares they were using "seems to have a mind of their own as to when they want to work. Just as you think they should, they don't and if you wait a few minutes, they detonate and you better be ready when they finally decide to."
4. The applicant also questions the Board's conclusion that his injury was not a result of hostile action. He says his platoon leader received two Purple Hearts for being wounded on purpose as a result of throwing hand grenades onto a firing range. Therefore, he does not accept and challenges the terminology of being wounded accidently.
5. The applicant provides a statement from an individual who identifies himself as the applicant's former unit's radio telephone operator and a statement from an individual who identifies himself as the applicant's former unit's ammunition bearer. These individuals confirm the applicant's contention that when ammunition was being passed out, a flare blew up and injured the applicant.
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 AR20080011201, on 2 October 2008.
2. The statement provided by the applicant is new evidence which requires that the Board reconsider the applicant's request.
3. In its first consideration of this case, the Board concluded that "medical evidence of record shows the applicant was accidentally injured on
7 September 1969 in Vietnam, not as a result of hostile action. There is no evidence in the applicant's service personnel record which shows that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to award the Purple Heart."
4. 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The statements provided by the applicant only confirms that the applicant was accidently injured when handling ammunition. The unit was not engaged with the enemy at the time. The unit was not attacking or being attacked by the enemy.
2. Accidental injuries do not qualify for the Purple Heart.
3. While it is unfortunate if the applicant's platoon leader was erroneously awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds which were not the result of enemy action, it would be inappropriate to issue an unearned decoration based on the fact that another Soldier was awarded the same decoration without earning it.
4. The applicant was not and is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.
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 AR20080011201, dated 2 October 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) AR20090002797
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090002797
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