BOARD DATE: 21 August 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130022422
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.
2. The applicant states he has new evidence not previously considered.
3. The applicant provides a statement from his former commanding officer.
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 AR20130002864 on 8 October 2013.
2. The applicant submitted a new argument in the form of a statement by his former commanding officer attesting to his wound which was not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, it is considered new evidence and warrants consideration by the Board.
3. After having prior honorable enlisted service in the Regular Army, the applicant was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve on 14 September 1967 with a concurrent order to active duty.
4. He served as an infantry officer (parachutist) in Vietnam from 14 February 1968 to 20 March 1969. On 13 September 1969, he was released from active duty in the rank of first lieutenant.
5. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show award of the Purple Heart.
6. There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. There is also nothing in the typical sources below that show he was wounded and/or injured as a result of hostile action.
a. Item 18 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 66 (Officer Qualification Record) does not show he was ever in a patient status.
b. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, 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 him.
c. His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing. This is a microfiche listing of Vietnam Era casualties that is used to verify entitlement to the Purple Heart.
7. He provided a statement from his former commanding officer who states he witnessed the applicant's elbow had been wounded, treated, and bandaged.
8. 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:
* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
2. There is no evidence in the available records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, the statement provided by his former commander is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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 AR20130002864, dated 8 October 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) AR20130022422
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130022422
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130006331
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. However, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him the Purple Heart. _______ _ x_______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120021323
The applicant provides: a. An email, dated 23 January 2012, from a Verizon email user who states he was the unit medic at the time in question and that he treated the applicant for a small concussion at Vinh Kim after a mortar round knocked him off his feet in February 1969. c. A statement, dated 12 January 2012, from a radio telephone operator who served in the same unit at the time. Therefore, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140014179
The applicant states the FSM was wounded in action in Vietnam but did not receive the Purple Heart. There is no evidence of record that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart. However, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows the FSM was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130015518
The applicant states a letter from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), dated 10 May 2006, verifies his entitlement to the Purple Heart. The FSM's records are void of orders awarding the Purple Heart or any other evidence showing he sustained an injury as a result of hostile action. Notwithstanding her sincerity, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows the FSM was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for those wounds/injuries, and his treatment...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140004174
Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 does not show any wounds or injuries. There is no evidence in the available records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, the DA Forms 1594 are insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130000137
There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. The applicant contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart because he was injured while serving in Vietnam. His medical records do not contain evidence to show he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110019843
The applicant provides: a. Notwithstanding the applicant's contention and the authors' sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case. _______ _ X_______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120010359
Nothing in multiple typical source documents shows he was wounded in action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. His record is also void of any official Army correspondence or Western Union telegrams and there is no conclusive evidence in his service personnel record that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140011135
The applicant's records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 8 April 1966. There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. However, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he (not his unit) was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130004701
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. 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. Further, award...