IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 June 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110010605 


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 the Board's denial of his request for the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant asks the Board to again review his letter wherein he details the events which led to his wounding.  He stated he was in an engineer unit which was building an underground tactical operations center (TOC) at Firebase Rockson.  When they had finished the work day and were settling in for the night, they were shelled by enemy artillery which seriously wounded several members of his unit.  He was providing emergency first aid to the wounded Soldiers when he noticed he was bleeding.  He was medically evacuated along with the other Soldiers and treated for shrapnel wounds to his buttocks.

3.  The applicant provides:

* photographs of himself in Vietnam
* a letter from a physician with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Naval Hospital, Guam
* treatment records from the VA

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's elected representative offered her "strongest possible endorsement and recommendation for the award of the Purple Heart" to the applicant.

2.  The elected representative states the applicant was wounded due to shrapnel caused by enemy operations.  Counsel adds that during the Board's last consideration of the applicant's case, the analyst who wrote the case stated the evidence provided was determined to be sufficient to show that he met the criteria for award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant's elected representative does not provide any additional documents. 

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 Numbers AR20050001942 on 23 November 2005 and AR20070003239 on 5 June 2007.

2.  The applicant's elected representative's contentions are new argument which requires the Board to reconsider the applicant's case.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 November 1964.  He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 12B (combat engineer).  He served in Vietnam with Company B, 86th Engineer Battalion from 13 September 1967 to 12 September 1968 and with the 321st Artillery Regiment from 7 October 1969 to 6 October 1970.

4.  While in Vietnam, on 28 December 1969 he was treated for fragment wounds to his left forearm and buttocks.  The fragment wounds were debrided, the wounds cleaned, and the applicant was returned to limited duty.

5.  While in Vietnam the applicant was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for valor.

6.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 26 July 1970 for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He served continuously and on 31 May 1990, he was retired by reason of sufficient service for retirement in the rank/grade of master sergeant (MSG)/E-8.  Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

7.  The letter from the VA physician provided by the applicant states that an x-ray confirms the presence of metallic foreign bodies located in the soft tissues of his buttocks.  The physician concludes that the x-ray findings are consistent with the applicant's statement that he has shrapnel wounds from the Vietnam War.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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 required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was a combat engineer assigned to an engineer unit in Vietnam and he was twice decorated for valor in action.

2.  The applicant's account of what occurred, that he was building a TOC in Vietnam when his unit came under artillery fire and that he was wounded while providing emergency first aid to seriously wounded Soldiers, is totally believable given the applicant's unit, MOS, and demonstrated valor.

3.  The VA has confirmed that the applicant's x-ray is consistent with his receiving shrapnel wounds in Vietnam.

4.  Therefore, the preponderance of evidence supports the applicant's contention that he was wounded by enemy artillery fire while in Vietnam.  As such, it would be appropriate to afford him the benefit of the doubt and award him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 28 December 1969 and to correct his DD Form 214 to show this award.

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 amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20050001942 on   23 November 2005 and Docket Number AR20070003239 on 5 June 2007.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of hostile action in Vietnam on 28 December 1969; and

	b.  adding to item 13 of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 May 1990 the Purple Heart.



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20110010605



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110010605



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