IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 19 August 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130022310
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 the Board's denial of his previous request for correction of his record to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he went to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) about his knee and it still has residuals of shrapnel in it so he believes he should get the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides:
* his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* two pages of a VA decision document
* original case
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 AR20130001731, on 15 August 2013.
2. The VA decision document provided by the applicant is new evidence, which requires that the Board reconsider his request.
3. On 8 July 1966, the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States. Upon completion of his training he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B2P (Light Weapons Infantryman with parachutist qualification).
4. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 506th Infantry Regiment in Vietnam from 31 October 1967 to 27 June 1968. This form does not show any battle wounds in item 40 (Wounds).
5. On 2 July 1968, the applicant was released from active duty. He had completed 1 year, 11 months, and 24 days of creditable active duty service.
6. The applicant's DD Form 214 does not reflect award of the Purple Heart.
7. 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 Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for award of the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
8. His record is void of any documents stating he was wounded in action.
9. A review of the Vietnam casualty list did not reveal the applicant's name.
10. The applicant provides two pages of a VA decision document. This document shows in October 2012 he was granted service-connected disability for residuals of a shrapnel wound to his left knee.
11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart was awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must have been 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 applicants contention was carefully considered. However, though the VA determined he had residuals of a shrapnel wound in his left knee, there is no available evidence to show this wound was received as a result of hostile action.
2. In the absence of documentary evidence showing he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for such wounds, and the medical treatment was made a matter of official record, 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 AR20130001731, dated 15 August 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) AR20130022310
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130022310
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