IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 23 September 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100009990
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 (Francis) requests removal of the Purple Heart he was awarded on 15 June 1970 from his records and DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) and given to his brother (Steven).
2. The applicant states it was his brother who was wounded on 15 June 1970, not him. The error was apparently made because he served in the same unit as his brother.
3. The applicant provides a copy of the previous Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Proceedings pertaining to him and the DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) which was generated based on the approved recommendation of the ABCMR.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The previous ABCMR Proceedings show the applicant requested correction of the Social Security Number (SSN) on a 9 August 1969 Order awarding him the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant's records contained General Orders Number 7274, dated 25 June 1970, which awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds incurred on
15 June 1970. Those orders reflected his correct name and SSN. His records also contained a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) which showed in
Item 40 (Wounds) that he was wounded on 8 August 1969 and 15 June 1970, and his DD Form 214 which already showed he was awarded the Purple Heart. As such, the ABCMR corrected item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 to show he was awarded the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster (two awards) when the Board corrected the SSN on the
9 August 1969 Order.
3. In support of his original request, the applicant submitted a DA Form 8-275-3 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet), dated 13 August 1969, and numerous other medical records which showed he was treated for multiple fragment wounds to his back and upper and lower extremities. This form showed the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart by the hospital.
4. In a separate case, the applicant's brother has requested that the ABCMR correct the 25 June 1970 Purple Heart order to show his name and SSN and to add that Purple Heart to his DD Form 214. The applicant's brother currently is not credited with having earned a Purple Heart. In support of his request the applicant's brother submits a statement from his former commander who states that to the best of his knowledge and remembrances, the applicant was wounded as described. He remembers that it was reported to him that both men on top of the bunker had been slightly wounded. He concludes he is satisfied that the applicant did indeed earn the Purple Heart.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The issue in this case is not whether a Purple Heart should have been awarded for wounds incurred on 15 June 1970. At issue here is whether an administrative error resulted in the applicant being awarded the Purple Heart for wounds incurred by the applicant's brother:
2. The applicant's brother states that he was wounded and should have been awarded the Purple Heart but the decoration was erroneously awarded to the applicant. The applicant states it was his brother who was wounded on 15 June 1970 and not him, and requests that this Purple Heart be taken from him and given to the applicant. The applicant's commander states that the applicant's brother was wounded on 15 June 1970.
3. Given these facts, it would appear that when the unit clerk was processing the applicant's brother for award of the Purple Heart for his 15 June 1970 wound, he mistakenly pulled the applicant's records. The applicant and his brother were in the same unit and the applicant's first name would have caused his Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) to be filed before his brother's MPRJ (Jeffrey comes before Stephen alphabetically).
4. Such a scenario would also explain why the applicant's brother's DA Form 20 does not show that he was wounded and the applicant's DA Form 20 shows he was wounded twice, once on the day the applicant's brother was wounded.
5. As such, the preponderance of evidence supports that an administrative error was made, that the Purple Heart earned by the applicant's brother was inadvertently awarded to the applicant.
6. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant's records as recommended below.
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:
a. amending General Orders Number 7274, dated 25 June 1970, which awarded him the Purple Heart, to delete the applicant's name;
b. deleting from item 24 of his DD Form 214 the First Oak Leaf Cluster portion of his Purple Heart; and
c. deleting from item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 the entry "FW: (R) UPPER ARM 15 JUN 70."
__________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) AR20100009990
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100009990
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