IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 17 May 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120006832
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 request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states the reconsideration is based on the evidence he provided.
3. He provides the following:
* Clinical Record Cover Sheets, dated 20 March and 1 April 1967
* Clinical/Health Record documentation
* Dental Treatment Plan
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 AR20110017659, on 6 October 2011.
2. The applicant's Clinical Record Cover Sheets and Clinical/Health Record documentation were not previously considered by the Board.
3. Clinical Record Cover Sheets, dated 20 March and 1 April 1967, show he was admitted to the hospital on 3 March 1967, after sustaining lacerations of the skull and right thigh in a helicopter crash. The crash occurred near the Cambodian border, Republic of Vietnam at 0030 hours on 3 March 1967. Additionally, his Clinical/Health Record documentation expounds on his injuries and the treatment administered based on those injuries.
4. The medical documentation he provided is void of any evidence that indicates the helicopter crash was a result of hostile action.
5. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides 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 required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Paragraph 2-8b(2) states that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. The regulation states that the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The information contained in the applicant's clinical record sheets show he was admitted to the hospital and treated for lacerations to the skull and thigh due to a helicopter crash. There is no evidence and he has not provided any to show that his wounding was the result of enemy action. Therefore, the overall merits of the case, including his medical documentation, are insufficient as a basis to reverse the ABCMR's previous decision.
2. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
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 that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20110017659, dated 6 October 2011.
_______ _ _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) AR20120006832
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RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120006832
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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