BOARD DATE:	  30 May 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120019689 


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.

2.  The applicant states he was previously denied the Purple Heart due to lack of evidence that his wound was a result of enemy action.  He has tracked down several members of his unit who provided statements in support of his application.  He believes he earned this award.

3.  The applicant provides:

* Four statements of support from former unit members
* Declassified After Action Report (AAR) - Mechanic Ambush
* Statement of Medical Condition (previously submitted)
* Special Orders Number 102 (previously submitted)
* Chronological Record of Medical care (previously submitted)

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 AC98-09740, on 2 September 1998.

2.  The applicant provides four statements and a declassified AAR that were not previously considered.  They are considered new evidence and as such warrant consideration by the Board.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on
19 November 1969.  He held military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

4.  He served in Vietnam from 2 July 1970 to 22 June 1971.  He was assigned to:

* Company B, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry from on or about 30 July 1970 to on or about 10 January 1971
* 557th Infantry Platoon (Combat Tracker) from on or about 11 January 1971 to on or about 22 June 1971

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 23 June 1971 as an overseas returnee.  The DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he was issued at the time does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  He enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 29 April 1974.  He served through multiple reenlistments or extensions, in a variety of stateside or overseas assignments.  On 31 December 1993, he retired by reason of sufficient service for retirement in the rank/grade of first sergeant (1SG)/E-8.  The DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) he was issued at the time does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

7.  There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Nothing in five typical sources show he was wounded/injured as a result of hostile action:

	a.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his contemporaneous DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show a combat wound or injury.  Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9, stated a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20.  This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be placed in item 40.

	b.  Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.

	c.  Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

	d.  His records do not contain an official Army message or a Western Union telegram notifying his next of kin of an injury or wound.  This was the proper notification of injuries at the time.

	e.  His medical records are not available for review with this case.

8.  On 2 September 1998, the Board denied the applicant's original request for award of the Purple Heart.  The Board determined there was insufficient evidence to confirm the applicant's wound resulted from enemy action.  He had submitted:

	a.  A Chronological Record of Medical Care that contains his name and the entry "3 February 1971, Gunshot wound in left side of buttocks" and "6 February 1971 Bandage change." 

	b.  A Statement of Medical Condition, dated 23 June 1971, wherein the applicant indicated there had been no change in his medical condition.

9.  The applicant now provides:

	a.  A statement from Mr. GMR, former sergeant with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, dated 18 June 2012.  He states he remembers a dog handler with the same last name as that of the applicant being wounded towards the end of 1971.  His company had requested a dog handler team at the time to track the North Vietnamese Army who then ambushed the team trying to kill the dog and wounding the handler in the process.

	b.  A statement from Mr. AMB, dated 16 June 2012, who provides his recollection of events.  He states that on 28 January 1971 five to seven members of an enemy force opened fire on the dog handlers.  He was with the third platoon and they were trying to hook up with the rest of the company when the action happened.  The applicant was wounded but remained with his dog in the field.  He had been shot in the rear and he remained in that environment for 2 days before he received medical aid.

	c.  An emailed statement from Mr. RJM, a member of the 557th Tracker Team, dated 28 November 2009.  He remembers that day when they received fire in a river bed with no cover.  When the rest of the platoon arrived, the fire exchange had stopped.  One member was bleeding and they helped applying pressure to his wounds.  Someone also noticed that the applicant had blood on the back of his pants and when the platoon medic arrived, he treated the wound. His wound was not bad enough to require evacuation.

	d.  A statement from Mr. RG, dated 20 August 2012, who states he was a former member of 3rd Platoon, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry.  From 22 January to the beginning of February 1971, D Company had been in contact with the enemy.  The applicant was a member of the tracker team that had been attached to D Company to assist in the pursuit of enemy forces.  During this period there was a series of firefights from enemy ambushes.  It was either the first or second of these ambushes the applicant sustained his wounds from enemy small arms fire and he had to be medically evacuated for the treatment of his wounds.

	e.  A declassified memorandum issued by Headquarters, 2nd Brigade,
101st Airborne Division, subject:  AAR – Mechanical Ambush, dated 22 February 1971.  The AAR chronicles various enemy ambushes against 3rd Platoon,
D Company, specifically on 21 January 1971.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and 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.

	a.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:

* injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action
* injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap; injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent
* injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire
* concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions

	b.  Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:

* frostbite or trench foot injuries
* heat stroke
* food poisoning not caused by enemy agents
* chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy
* battle fatigue
* disease not directly caused by enemy agents
* accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action
* self-inflicted wounds, except when in the heat of battle and not involving gross negligence
* post-traumatic stress disorders
* jump injuries not caused by enemy action

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The criteria for the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The applicant's service record is void of any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of combat.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing and there are no orders in ADCARS awarding him the Purple Heart.  His service medical records are not available for review with this case.

3.  He provides multiple statements from various former unit members.  However, these statements are recollections of events that occurred over 40 years ago and, while they appear to be sincere, are not supported by other corroborating evidence that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile enemy action.

4.  The applicant's service in Vietnam is not in question and the statements he submitted are also noted.  However, he has not satisfied the requirements of the Purple Heart.  Even if the witness statements were corroborated, this still leaves the key question unanswered.  Was the injury indicated on the only medical document he provides caused by hostile enemy action?  Until this question is answered with the appropriate documentary evidence, the applicant has not met the burden of proof.

5.  In view of the foregoing and in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him 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 that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AC98-09740, on 2 September 1998.



      _________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)                                         AR20120019689



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120019689



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