IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	 8 May 2014  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130016509 


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 correction of his military records to show he is entitled to two awards of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant lists in a 5-page statement the reasons he believes he is entitled to a second Purple Heart.  His statement is summarized as follows:

	a.  His Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) representative discovered the error.  To be frank, he doesn't really care.  However, it did concern him that there was no record of all he did for his country.  He is grateful for the corrections made by the Board, especially, for the Combat Medical Badge that was added to his DD Form 214.  He already had this badge and had worn it on his uniform.  It meant more than any of the other medals.  Now as he grows older, setting the record straight means more.

	b.  He understands how hard it is to acquire all of the documents to verify some awards and to prove what happened during a time of war.  After he was wounded the last time, when he lost an eye, he was shipped out of country within a week.  He was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia but none of his personal possessions ever caught up with him.  His duffle bag containing his possessions was stored at Fire Base Bronco while he was in the field.  He is pretty sure that is also where his records were maintained.  He knows all Soldiers have their war stories.  Take them for what they are worth.  This is his story and he knows it to be true.  To tell the truth, as they said over there in Vietnam, it doesn't mean a thing.  This is the way he felt until some official denied his right to an oak leaf cluster on his Purple Heart.
	c.  He says he bled from wounds he received no less than five times.  His first Purple Heart came when the point man tripped a booby trap.  Four of his dear brothers were badly wounded.  He did not realize he was hit because he was too busy stuffing the guts back into another Soldier and bandaging him.  At the same time, he was telling another Soldier to put a tourniquet on what was left of a Soldier's left leg, and making sure the other two Soldiers were dead.  Later, back at Fire Base Charlie Brown when he was washing, he discovered shrapnel in his left arm and neck.  He picked out all he could but could not get anyone to dig for the piece in his neck.  He put antiseptic on his wounds and carried-on.  The wound in his neck got infected and the commanding officer sent him to Fire Base Bronco where a doctor removed it and asked him if this was his first Purple Heart.  He said yes.  A few weeks later the commanding officer gave him a paper award of the Purple Heart.

	d.  For the next few months he worked on wounded Soldiers who were from the city.  They could not spot mashed down grass or bush limbs out of place.  They would be-bop into booby traps.  He figured he could save more lives and limbs by walking point himself.  He was lucky on a few times.  The closest call he had was passing by a North Vietnamese Army ambush.  He heard rifle fire from the barrel of an AK 47 rifle shooting straight at him.  He knew he was killed and wet his pants, fell straight down in the creek and almost drowned.  After the fire was over he found two bullet holes on the right side of his shirt and he was bleeding from a big welt on the ribs under his arm where another bullet had touched him on the left side.  He put antiseptic on it and carried-on.

	e.  Another time he was in a night position on Hill Number 415 or something when they were mortared.  A piece of shrapnel lodged in his left shin bone.  He talked another Soldier into pulling it out.  Again, just used antiseptic and carried-on.  He has a scar on his shin to prove it happened.

	f.  He also has a scar in his hair-line in front of his left ear where shrapnel touched him.  Their artillery was working in front of them and he thinks a small piece of shrapnel made it back to only him.

	g.  He states that if the Board can live without officially giving him an oak leaf cluster on his Purple Heart, he too can live without having it officially in his records.

	h.  Another thing that kind of bugs him is that he was told by his lieutenant right before he had lost his eye that the major of his battalion had put him in for the Silver Star for what he saw him do when they were sweeping the village.  He could not think of anything brave that he had done.  The village was shaped like a horseshoe around a big rice paddy.  He could see the smoke from the explosion about 50 years across the rice paddy.  The radio man got a call for a medic.  He looked at the long way around through the woods or the short way across the dike.  He was so tired.  It was not bravery, but rather laziness, that made him take the shortcut.  Nothing seemed to be happening and it seemed safe so he just be-bopped across the dike.  About half way across bullets were hitting the water in front of him and he dove off the dike into the water and crawled the rest of the way to work on the wounded.  He told the lieutenant this was just a mistake he made, but the lieutenant said that was not how the major saw it.  The lieutenant said it would probably be dropped to a Bronze Star Medal because he was not hit.  He laughed and said, it doesn't mean a thing.  I still kind of feel that way.

	i.  He says that the lieutenant told him he had been put in for sergeant.  He never thought much about that comment until a few years back when he was talking about it with another Vietnam veteran.  The veteran said if he could find the rank advancement orders he might be able to get back pay for that rank on the 40 percent disability check he has been drawing since 1971.  He made a lot of phone calls and did paperwork.  He finally realized it was hopeless when a civilian woman who was the supervisor of records told him his best bet would be to visit Fire Base Bronco records department and see if they could help him.  He just laughed and did not bother to tell her just how stupid that advice was.  He gave up.

	j.  If anyone bothers to read his letter, he appreciates it.  It might not help his case but writing it has helped him get these matters off his chest.  If anyone reading this is or was in the military, then they understand the frustration of following the procedures of paperwork and red tape that a Soldier has to endure just to satisfy the paper requirements made by someone who has never been to war.

	k.  Regardless of any future decisions the Board might make, he will be fine.  God took care of his stupid self a lot of times during the war.  Every day of his life since then has been great.  God has taken care of all his needs and has given him good health, a great family, and wonderful friends.  Once again, he doesn't really know why he wrote this letter but thanks the Board for reading it.

3.  The applicant provides no additional documentation.

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 AR20120017886, on 23 April 2013.

2.  The applicant has provided a 5-page statement wherein he discusses his experiences in combat and details of when and how he was wounded in action.  As such, this narrative will be considered by the Board as new evidence.

3.  In the original Record of Proceedings, the Board acknowledged the applicant's certificate and orders for award of the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster.  However, his records failed to show any evidence of his receiving a previous award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, the Board determined the available evidence to be insufficient for making a correction of his DD Form 214 to show two awards of the Purple Heart.

4.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the Purple Heart to a member of the Armed Force of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may die after being wounded in any action against an enemy of the U.S.  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.  An oak leaf cluster denotes award of second and succeeding awards of the Purple Heart.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that his military records should be corrected to show he is entitled to two awards of the Purple Heart.

2.  There are no general orders available that announce award of the applicant's first Purple Heart.  Without such orders, or other equally corroborating documentation the award certificate and orders for a second Purple Heart are insufficient evidence.

3.  Furthermore, the applicant's 5-page statement clearly shows that the medical treatment he received was, for the most part, self-administered.  He does not indicate what, if any, record of such treatment was ever made.  Only wounds that required medical treatment and were made a part of the record can be considered for award of the Purple Heart.




4.  In view of the above, the applicant's request should be denied.

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 AR20120017886, dated 23 April 2013.




      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20130016509





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130016509



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