IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 November 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140006363
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 was awarded the Purple Heart for combat wounds he sustained during the Vietnam War. His records were destroyed and his reissued DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not include the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214)
* Medical Records
* Military Order of the Purple Heart letter, dated 4 April 2014
* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Decision, dated 13 February 2012
* VA Form 21-22 (Appointment of Veterans Service Organization as Claimant's Representative)
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 AR20050001788, on 8 September 2005.
2. The medical records provided by the applicant are new evidence, which requires the Board reconsider his request.
3. On 18 April 1967, he was inducted into the Army of the United States. Upon completion of his training he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
4. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam from on or about
3 April 1968 to 1 April 1969. This form does not show any battle wounds in item 40 (Wounds).
5. On 1 April 1969, he was released from active duty. He had completed 1 year, 11 months, and 14 days of creditable active service. His DD Form 214 does not reflect award of the Purple Heart.
6. 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.
7. His record is void of any documents stating he was wounded in action.
8. A review of the Vietnam casualty list did not reveal the applicant's name.
9. The applicant provides:
a. Medical records for the period 11 July - 8 September 1968. These records show he suffered a fragment wound to the left forehead (head injury) when an M79 Grenade Launcher round exploded. His Clinical Record-Narrative Summary, dated 26 March 1969, shows the applicant received six subsequent operations for this wound and apparently sustained a skull fracture; he reported having occasional headaches.
b. A letter drafted by the National Service Officer, Military Order of the Purple Heart. The author contends that on 11 July 1968 the applicant was struck in the head by fragments from an enemy M79 round. While hospitalized he was awarded the Purple Heart.
c. A VA decision document. This document shows that on 13 February 2012 he was granted service-connected disability for numerous conditions to include Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and a scar to his left frontal scalp.
10. 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 and the fact that he was injured is not in question. However, a review of the medical records provided by the applicant only show that he suffered a head injury/skull fracture resulting from an exploded M79 round (an American weapon, not an enemy weapon), there is no indication that this wound was received as a result of or during hostile action.
2. In the absence of documentary evidence showing he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for such wound, 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 AR20050001788, dated 8 September 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) AR20140006363
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140006363
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