BOARD DATE:	  22 October 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130004701 


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.  The applicant states he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
	
3.  The applicant provides:

* eight pages of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) progress notes
* Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings in Docket Number AR20110013384
* one page of an online magazine article
* a statement from former a 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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20110013384, dated 18 January 2012.


2.  In support of his request for reconsideration the applicant provides the following documents which are considered new evidence and merit consideration by the Board:

* eight pages of his VA progress notes
* a magazine article
* a statement from a former unit member

3.  He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 14 June 1967.  

4.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

	a  item 38 (Record of Assignments), he was assigned to Company C, 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Vietnam from 1 December 1967 to 10 January 1969; 

	b.  item 40 (Wounds) no entry; and.

	c.  item 41 (Awards and Decorations), no entry for the Purple Heart.

5.  On 13 January 1969, he was honorably released from active duty after serving for 1 year and 7 months.

6.   A review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant as a casualty.

7.  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.

8.  He submitted:

	a.  a statement from a former member of his unit, dated 30 May 2010, who indicated that the applicant was a combat medic who treated many casualties while in Vietnam.

   b.  eight pages of progress notes, from the VA neuropsychology department, dated 1 June 2011, which show the applicant:

   (1)  indicated he underwent an evaluation for PTSD; and 
   
   (2)  requested an evaluation of his memory and general cognitive
functioning due to a concussion he indicated he received in Vietnam.  

	c.  an online magazine article about the rule changes for award of the Purple Heart.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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.

10.  Military Personnel (MILPER) Message Number 11-125, issued by the U.S. Army Human Resource Command, Fort Knox, KY, dated 29 April 2011, informed all members of the Army that the Secretary of the Army had approved Army Directive 2011-07 (Awarding the Purple Heart).  The directive provides clarifying guidance to ensure the uniform application of advancements in medical knowledge and treatment protocols when considering recommendations for award of the Purple Heart for concussions (including mild traumatic brain and concussive injuries that do not result in a loss of consciousness).  This message does not change the standards for award of the Purple Heart for concussion injuries.  This policy is retroactive to 11 September 2001.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request to be awarded the Purple Heart 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.  

3.  Witness statements by themselves are not sufficient evidence upon which to award him the Purple Heart.  It shows he was the combat medic who treated many casualties, not that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.  There is no evidence in his service personnel records, which show he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.  Therefore, the evidence is not sufficient to support award of the Purple Heart.

4.  Further, award of the Purple Heart for traumatic brain injuries (but not for PTSD) is retroactive only to 11 September 2001.

5.  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 AR20110013384, dated 18 January 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)                                         AR20130004701





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130004701



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