IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	      13 AUGUST 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090002968 


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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded by an anti-tank mine on 22 August 1969 while serving in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN).  He also states he took shrapnel in his left leg and injured his lower back, and he has a loss of hearing and eyesight issues from the incident.  He further states he received his Purple Heart medal by mail; however, it has since been lost and he never received his Purple Heart Certificate.

3.  The applicant provides, in support of his application, a letter from a former fellow Soldier to a Veterans Service Center Manager, dated 29 October 2007, along with a copy of his DA Form 4980-10 (Purple Heart Certificate), dated
9 January 1970; Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), Special Orders Number 241, dated 29 August 1969 (front page only); Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), Special Orders Number 243, dated 31 August 1969 (front page only); Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), Special Orders Number 310, dated 6 November 1969 (reverse page only); Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), General Orders Number 7262, dated 25 November 1969; Headquarters, U.S. Army Personnel Center, Fort Lewis, Washington, Special Orders Number 332, dated 28 November 1969; DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) with an effective date of 12 December 1969; NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service in the Army National Guard of California) with an effective date of 12 December 1969; VA Form 07-3542 (Authorization to Report - Voucher for Mileage Allowance), dated 6 July 1970; Headquarters, Office of The Adjutant General, U.S. Army Administration Center, St. Louis, Missouri, Letter Orders Number 05-1088968, dated 26 May 1971; Veterans Affairs (VA) File Number Identification Card; VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim), dated 7 December 2007; VA Form 21-4142 (Authorization and Consent to Release Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)), dated 7 December 2007; VA Form
21-0781 (Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), dated 7 December 2007; and Standard Form (SF) 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records), dated 19 February 2009.

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 AR20080014439 on 23 October 2008.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS) and California Army National Guard (CAARNG) for a period of
6 years on 8 June 1965.  He was ordered to active duty for training from
22 November 1965 to 26 April 1966, completed basic combat and advanced individual training, and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS)
11E (Armor Crewman).

3.  The applicant was ordered to active duty from the ARNGUS on 13 May 1968.

4.  The applicant's military personnel records contain a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record).

   a.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) shows he served in the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) in the RVN from 30 April through 27 November 1969.

   b  Item 38 (Record of Assignments), in pertinent part, shows he was assigned to Troop C, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 4th Infantry Division (USARPAC, RVN), in duty MOS 11E4O (Assistant Tank Commander) effective 14 May 1969.

   c.  Item 40 (Wounds) is blank.
   
   d.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) fails to show he was authorized award of the Purple Heart.



5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he entered active duty this period on
13 May 1968 and was honorably released from active duty on 12 December 1969 to revert to the ARNGUS and CAARNG to complete his remaining military service obligation.  At the time he had completed 1 year and 7 months of net active service.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with (M-16) Rifle Bar, Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with (M-14) Rifle Bar, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and one Overseas Service Bar.

6.  The applicant's NGB Form 22 shows he enlisted in the ARNGUS and CAARNG on 8 June 1965, was honorably discharged on 12 December 1969, and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) to complete his remaining military service obligation.  At the time he had completed 4 years, 6 months, and 5 days of total service for pay purposes.  Item 24 (Decorations, Citations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and one Overseas Service Bar.

7.  There is no documentation in the applicant’s military personnel records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  In addition, a review of the Vietnam Casualty Roster confirmed that the applicant’s name is not listed on the roster.

8.  A review of the applicant’s military personnel records revealed that there are no orders in the applicant’s records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.

9.  A search of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System for the Vietnam Conflict failed to produce orders showing the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.

10.  A VA Form 526e (Veteran’s Application for Compensation or Pension at Separation from Service), dated 28 November 1969, shows in Item 6 (Nature of Sickness, Diseases or Injuries for Which Claim is Made and Date Each Began) that the applicant entered, "LOSS OF PARTIAL HEARING IN EARS.  BELIEVE IT WAS DUE TO A MINE EXPLOSION ON 22 AUGUST [19]69.  DID NOT NOTICE THE LOSS UNTIL I HAD MY SEPARATION PHYSICAL AT FORT LEWIS, WASH[INGTON] ON 28 NOV[EMBER 19]69."  There is no indication on this document that the applicant sustained a shrapnel wound of his left leg and/or that he injured his lower back on 22 August 1969.

11.  In support of his request for reconsideration, the applicant provides the following documents.

   a.  A letter from a former fellow Soldier to a Veterans Service Center Manager, dated 29 October 2007, and the veteran’s Purple Heart Certificate, dated 9 January 1970.  These two documents were previously considered in the applicant’s original request for consideration.  The Board found that "[t]he witness statement alone does not provide an eyewitness account of the applicant being wounded as a result of hostile action."

   b.  Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), Special Orders Number 241, dated 29 August 1969 (front page only), that show, in pertinent part, the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.
   
   c.  Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), Special Orders Number 243, dated 31 August 1969 (front page only), that show, in pertinent part, the applicant was appointed to the temporary grade of staff sergeant on 26 August 1969.

   d.  Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), Special Orders Number 310, dated 6 November 1969 (reverse page only), that show, in pertinent part, the applicant was assigned to the U.S. Army Vietnam Returnee Detachment (RVN) on 23 November 1969 for further assignment to Company A, 1st Battalion,
18th Armored Cavalry, Fort Lewis, Washington on 1 December 1969.

   e.  Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division (RVN), General Orders Number 7262, dated 25 November 1969, that show the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the RVN from May to November 1969.

   f.  Headquarters, U.S. Army Personnel Center, Fort Lewis, Washington, Special Orders Number 332, dated 28 November 1969, that show the applicant was released from active duty on 28 November 1969 and assigned to the CAARNG effective 29 November 1969.

   g.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 and NGB Form 22, with effective dates of
12 December 1969, were previously considered in this Record of Proceedings.

   h.  Authorization to Report - Voucher for Mileage Allowance, dated 6 July 1970, that shows, in pertinent part, the applicant was to report to the VA Outpatient Clinic, Los Angeles, California, for a medical examination on
17 August 1970.

   i.  Headquarters, Office of The Adjutant General, U.S. Army Administration Center, St. Louis, Missouri, Letter Orders Number 05-1088968, dated 26 May 1971, that show the applicant was honorably discharged from the USAR Control Group (Standby) based on expiration of term of service effective 7 June 1971.

   j.  A VA File Number Identification Card; Statement in Support of Claim, dated 7 December 2007; Authorization and Consent to Release Information to the Department of VA, dated 7 December 2007; Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for PTSD, dated 7 December 2007; and Request Pertaining to Military Records, dated 19 February 2009.  These documents provide a summary of the applicant’s VA claim for benefits based on, in pertinent part, a shrapnel wound to his left leg, lower back injury, a loss of hearing, and head and eyesight issues resulting from an incident that occurred on 22 August 1969 in the RVN when the Armored Personnel Carrier he was in struck an anti-tank mine.  This documentation also shows the applicant indicated he received field medical attention for the shrapnel wound to his left leg and lower back pain.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards.  This Army regulation, in pertinent part, states that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  It provides that 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that his request for award of the Purple Heart should be reconsidered because he was wounded by an anti-tank mine on 22 August 1969 while serving in the RVN, took shrapnel in his left leg and injured his lower back, and he has a loss of hearing and eyesight issues from the incident.  He also contends that he received his Purple Heart medal by mail; however, it has since been lost and he never received his Purple Heart Certificate.

2.  The applicant’s request for reconsideration for award of the Purple Heart, along with the documentary evidence he provides, was carefully considered.
The applicant provides no timely documentary evidence from his service medical records to verify that he was wounded as the result of hostile action, that such wound(s) required treatment by medical personnel, or that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.  In this regard, the documentation pertaining to the applicant’s VA claim for benefits, submitted more than 42 years after the incident upon which his claim for the Purple Heart is based, offers insufficient official documentary evidence regarding injuries sustained as a result of hostile action on 22 August 1969 in the RVN.

3.  There is no evidence in the applicant’s military personnel records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action; his DA Form 20 does not list the Purple Heart in item 41; the applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster; and there are no orders in the applicant’s military personnel records or in the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System, that show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  In addition, there is no evidence in the applicant’s military service records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action, that such wound required treatment, or that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.  Therefore, in view of all of the foregoing, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart in this case.

4.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.  Therefore, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X_____  ____X____  _____X___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 AR20080014439, dated 23 October 2008.



2.  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.



      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20090002968



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090002968



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