IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 August 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130021615
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, via a Member of Congress, reconsideration of an earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he sustained an injury while in combat in Vietnam.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 1380 (U.S. Field Medical Card), dated 29 March 1968
* Standard Form 509 (Doctor's Progress Notes), dated 6 July 1968
* photograph of a Soldier with a bandage on his head
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 AR20050003291 on 11 August 2005.
2. The applicant provides medical documentation that is new evidence that will be considered by the Board.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 25 January 1967. He served as a radio operator in Vietnam from 3 March 1968 to 13 January 1969. On 15 January 1969, he was honorably released from active duty.
4. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
5. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
6. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank.
7. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
8. The applicant provided a DD Form 1380, dated 29 March 1968, which states:
* his diagnosis as no hearing in right ear due to concussion
* he was running to bunker when injured on 29 March 1968
9. However, this form does not show his injury was the result of hostile action in Vietnam.
10. He also provides a Doctor's Progress Notes, dated 6 July 1968, which state he suffered a laceration to his head and possible concussion on 18 April 1968. However, this medical record does not show this injury was the result of hostile action in Vietnam.
11. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
12. 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 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he sustained an injury while in combat in Vietnam.
2. The medical documentation provided by the applicant does not show his injuries were the result of hostile action in Vietnam.
3. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:
* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by military medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
4. There is no evidence of record and he provides no evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base adding award of the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214.
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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20050003291, dated 11 August 2005.
__________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) AR20130021615
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130021615
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