IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 20 May 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090020120
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 the records of her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart and correcting his records accordingly.
2. The applicant states that the FSM was wounded in Vietnam on 1 March 1971 when he sustained lacerations to his right hand from a machete and underwent surgery for that wound. She goes on to state that the Purple Heart Citation was initiated but never completed. She also states the FSM deserves the award posthumously and his record should be corrected accordingly.
3. The applicant provides:
* the FSMs death certificate
* clinical records from the FSMs Official Military Personnel File
* the FSMs DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* the FSMs DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 February 1970. He completed all of his training at Fort Lewis, Washington and was transferred to Vietnam on 10 July 1970, for assignment to Company C, 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division as a light weapons infantryman. He was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on 20 February 1971.
2. On 1 March 1971, the FSM was injured when he accidentally cut his right hand with a machete. He was initially evacuated to Japan and then to Irwin Army Hospital at Fort Riley, Kansas where he underwent surgery to repair the injury on 20 May 1971.
3. He remained at Fort Riley until he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on 28 September 1971 as an enlisted member of a medical holding detachment, who upon completion of hospitalization, did not intend to immediately enlist or reenlist in the Regular Army. He had served 1 year, 7 months, and 19 days of total active service and his DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, and marksmanship badges.
4. A review of the available records, to include the Vietnam Casualty Listing, fails to show that the FSM was ever reported as a battle casualty or that he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.
5. Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 been treated by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official records.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. While there is no doubt that the FSM was injured in Vietnam on 1 March 1971, there is no evidence that shows he was injured as a result of enemy action.
2. The available evidence clearly shows the FSM was accidently injured when he was cut by a machete. There is no evidence or language in the available records that suggests his injury was caused by enemy action. In the absence of such evidence, there does not appear to be a basis to award the FSM the Purple Heart at this time.
3. 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 FSM's record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.
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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by her late husband in service to the United States during the Vietnam War. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
__________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) AR20090020120
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090020120
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