BOARD DATE:	  20 January 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100017690 


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 earlier request for award of the Purple Heart through his Member of Congress.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded in combat on 20 or 21 June 1971 in Vietnam.  His medical records were given to him to hand-carry back to the base area; however, he misplaced or lost those records.  He also states through a letter to his Member of Congress that his injury occurred when he and six other Soldiers of Company A, 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry, encountered heavy enemy fire and grenades within a 10-mile radius west of Ben Luc.  As they entered the wood line, they received heavy small arms fire from a fortified enemy bunker complex.  They were pinned down for about 90 minutes during which he and three other Soldiers were wounded.  He received shrapnel to the back of his left arm and in his right hip.  They were medically evacuated to the 12th Evacuation Hospital.  During the flight, the helicopter crashed and when he woke up, he found himself in the hospital.  He was treated for his shrapnel wound and other injuries and was released with his medical records to his unit.  However, the records were misplaced or lost.  His current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records verify that he has a shrapnel wound in the back of his left arm and left hip and medical tests prove these areas contain shrapnel remnants.  Additionally, he was awarded two awards of the Air Medal and a Bronze Star Medal that was related to the incident.  He believes that based on this information, he is deserving of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a map of the fire base, various VA medical records, a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Honor Roll certificate, contemporaneous letters to his parents, a self-authored letter, orders awarding him the Air Medal, and letters of support from his brother and a former unit member.

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 AR20060005286 on 14 December 2006.

2.  The applicant submitted a map of the fire base, various VA medical records, a Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Roll certificate, and contemporaneous letters to his parents, which were not previously reviewed by the ABCMR.  Therefore, they are considered new evidence and as such warrants consideration by the Board.

3.  His records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 30 September 1969 and held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

4.  His records further show he served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 15 March 1970 to on or about 18 February 1971 as follows:

* Company A, 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry, from on or about 11 April 1970 to on or about 16 September 1970
* Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, from on or about 17 September 1970 to on or about 14 February 1971

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 20 August 1971 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group to complete his remaining service obligation.

6.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 and his DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) show the following awards:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Air Medal with Numeral 3
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Bronze Star Medal
* Army Commendation Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade, Automatic Rifle, and Machine Gun Bars

7.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) which would have listed any combat injuries is blank.

8.  The applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster and there are no general orders in his records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.

9.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board's staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973.  This review failed to reveal any Purple Heart orders on file for him.

10.  The applicant's service medical records are not available for review with this case.

11.  He submitted the following documents:

	a.  A map of the III Corps Capital Zone and surrounding provinces shows the name Ben Luc highlighted as the area where he contends he was treated.

	b.  Various VA medical records dated 2001 and 2002 show he desired documentation to confirm his eligibility for the Purple Heart.  The records also show he had two metallic densities consistent with his story that are probably shrapnel.

	c.  A VFW Honor Roll Certificate lists his Vietnam service and awards.

	d.  Two orders show he was awarded the Air Medal for meritorious achievement in Vietnam from 30 April to 30 November 1970 and from 13 April to 14 May 1970.

	e.  Several letters to his mother and/or father, dated on various dates in 1967, show he described an injury to his left arm and right hip he sustained in Vietnam and that he was involved in a helicopter crash.  He goes on to describe his treatment for the injuries.

	f.  A letter from his brother, dated 23 October 2001, testifies that his brother sustained shrapnel wounds from enemy forces in Vietnam and that the helicopter crashed during a medical evacuation.  He was treated at the hospital and returned to his unit.

	g.  A letter from a former unit member, dated 9 November 2001, testifies the applicant sustained shrapnel wounds from enemy forces in Vietnam and that the helicopter crashed during medical evacuation.  He was treated at the hospital and returned to his unit.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that 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.

13.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) stated the authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders.  It directed that all personnel treated and released within 24 hours would be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to which the individual was assigned.  Personnel requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam would be awarded the Purple Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he should be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather, he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for award.

3.  The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence 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.

4.  In this case, the applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster, his DA Form 20 does not reflect a combat wound, his record is void of any orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart, and there is no conclusive evidence in his service personnel records that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.

5.  Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, during the Vietnam War, personnel requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam were awarded the Purple Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.  There is no evidence in his records that the hospital commander awarded him the Purple Heart.

6.  Notwithstanding the applicant's brother's sincerity, there is no record of a Western Union telegram or an official Department of the Army telegram in the applicant's records regarding a combat injury.

7.  Although the VA medical records refer to what appears to be shrapnel or a foreign object, it is unclear that this shrapnel or object was caused by enemy action or that the applicant was treated for this wound.  His service in Vietnam and his sincerity with regard to the information he submitted to the VA are not in question.  However, the VA's analysis of service-connected disability compensation does not establish eligibility for any awards.

8.  Nowhere do any of the documents provided by the applicant, taken separately or combined, conclusively show he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds and, as such, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

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 the overall merits of this case are 

insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20060005286, dated 14 December 2006.



      ___________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)                                         AR20100017690



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100017690



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