BOARD DATE: 1 October 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090004623
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 that he be awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he received wounds to his right hand as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) while on patrol in Al-khalidyan, Iraq.
3. The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability rating decisional document, photos of his injury and the IED site, and two witness statements.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant served on active duty from 31 October 1995 through
11 August 2000 until he was honorably discharged with disability severance pay. His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge.
2. The available evidence shows the applicant served in Iraq from 15 September 2003 through 14 September 2004.
3. The witness statement written by Major C____ Y_____ states that he was the applicant's company commander in Iraq and he recalls that the applicant and his men suffered from ruptured ear drums, hearing loss and shrapnel wounds following an IED exploding while they were on patrol.
4. The witness statement written by Sergeant First Class R____ E_____ states he was with the applicant, on or about 27 July 2004, when a secondary IED exploded striking the applicant. The applicant was rendered unconscious briefly and was medically evacuated for a perforated eardrum and shrapnel wounds.
5. A review of the records that are available in the integrated Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) show that both witnesses were assigned to the same unit as the applicant and served with him in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
6. A 25 July 2004, a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Treatment) shows the applicant was found to have a small perforation in the right tympanic membrane with bleeding. The assessment was that he was suffering from a blast injury with a right tympanic membrane perforation.
7. A 3 November 2004 Standard Form 600 shows treatment for recurrent pain in his right arm and hand following a May 2004 injury in Iraq. He also complained of pain in the left hand with a belief that he still had retained shrapnel. He was diagnosed with bursitis of the right elbow and there were positive x-ray findings of foreign bodies in his hand.
8. The second page of a DD Form 2844 (Medical Record - Post-Deployment Medical Assessment) shows the applicant had retained shrapnel in his left hand.
9. A 16 November 2004 DA Form 4700 (Medical Record Supplemental Medical Data) shows the applicant was evaluated for hearing loss following sustaining a head injury from an IED. The applicant was suffering from tinnitus and moderate to severe hearing loss
10. The applicant's 18 April 2008 VA disability rating decisional documents states the applicant's case was evaluated based on a review of his service medical records and a VA examination. The applicant was evaluated for 27 conditions with a granting of service connection for 14 of these conditions. Included are 10 percent evaluations for scarring on the right hand from shrapnel and removal of shrapnel with complaints of numbness and tingling in his hand.
11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent, and a physical lesion is not required.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant states he received wounds to his right hand as a result of an IED while on patrol in Al-khalidyan, Iraq.
2. The statements of individuals within his unit are inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment. However, they are normally accepted as a substantiation of the combat or the enemy origin of a wound for which there is a record of treatment.
3. The applicant's service medical records show that the applicant received treatment for a right tympanic membrane perforation with bleeding and had retained shrapnel in his hand as the result of blast injuries from an IED.
4. The statements from fellow Soldiers, who were present at the time of the IED explosion, further support a finding that the applicant sustained wounds from an IED while on patrol and that he received treatment for these wounds.
5. Therefore, it would be appropriate to show that the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds received on or about 25 July 2004 (the date noted on the Standard Form 600).
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 a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received on 25 July 2004.
_______ _ _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.
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