IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  5 September 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130002745 


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 and Army Commendation Medal.

2.  The applicant states:

* he received the Army Commendation Medal via a certificate which was lost in a fire
* his request for reconsideration of award of the Purple Heart is due to the blast injury he received when a bomb blast caused a tree to strike him
* he assumed the medic who treated him documented his injuries 
* the injury has resulted in devastating changes to his health

3.  The applicant provides:

* Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings (ROP) in Docket Number AR20100027520
* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Decision 
* 33 pages of progress notes and allied documents from the VA

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 AR20110016487, on 6 March 2012.
2.  The applicant provides new evidence in the form of his Rating Decision, dated 22 January 2013, and 33 pages of progress notes and allied documents from the VA that were not previously considered by the Board.  Therefore, they warrant consideration by the Board at this time

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 30 August 1967.  

4.  His record contains a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) that shows in:

	a.  item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in Vietnam during the period
14 February 1968 through 13 February 1969;

	b.  item 38 (Record of Assignments) while serving in Vietnam he was assigned to:

   (1)  D Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, 
from 19 February 1968 to 12 August 1968;

   (2)  D Company, 51st Infantry Regiment, from 15 August 1968 to 
12 November 1968; and 

   (3)  U.S. Army Depot, from 13 November 1968 to 9 February 1969;

	c.  item 40 (Wounds) no entry (blank); and

	d.  item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for the Purple Heart or Army Commendation Medal.

5.  On 15 July 1969, he was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service.  The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time does not show award of the Purple Heart or Army Commendation Medal.

6.  His record contains a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) which does not show his record was corrected to show award of the Purple Heart or Army Commendation Medal.

7.  He submitted 33 pages of his VA Progress Notes and allied lab reports dated between 6 to 18 October 2012, which show he was evaluated in order to determine his eligibility for disability benefits.  


8.  The VA Rating Decision, dated 22 January 2013, shows:

   a.  he received a disability rating of 20 percent (%) for degenerative discogenic/arthritic changes, cervical spine with cervical radiculopathy, 30% for peripheral neuropathy and cervical radiculopathy left extremity, and 30% for post-traumatic migraine.  Individual unemployability was discontinued.  He did not submit his initial VA Rating Decision.  
   
   b.  On page 7, he highlighted:
   
   	(1)  the statement from Mrs. G----a (the applicant's spouse) shows she reported that he received a blast to the head while in Vietnam, as documented by submitted photographic evidence; and 
   
   	(2)  the medical statement from the doctors stated the applicant sustained a blast injury in 1968 in the A Shau Valley in Vietnam.  He was thrown about 10 feet.  He was evaluated by a medic in the field after the blast for facial lacerations and facial swelling.  He has photographs from 1968 to document the injury to the left side of his face and he has chronic neck and back pain related to the blast injury sustained during military service in Vietnam.

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

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

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the ARCOM may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Army after 6 December 1941, distinguishes himself or herself by heroism, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service.  As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for correction of his record to add the Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal has been carefully considered and it was determined that there is still insufficient evidence to support this request.

2.  Award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the injury/wound was the result of enemy 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.  The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.

3.  Although he states he was wounded by a bomb blast to a tree and his VA Rating states his injuries may more than likely be related to the blast injury he sustained in Vietnam, there is no corroborating evidence of record or provided by the applicant that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.

4.  There is no evidence of record nor did the applicant submit any evidence showing he was recommended or approved for award of the ARCOM.  Therefore, he is not entitled to have his DD Form 214 corrected to add this award.

5.  Regrettably, in view of the foregoing there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.

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 AR20110016487, dated 6 March 2012.



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20130002745





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130002745



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