IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  26 February 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140009655 


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 a third award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant also requests an upgrade of his previously-awarded Silver Star (1st Award) to the Medal of Honor as a new issue,
 
3.  The applicant states:

	a.  Six eye-witnesses can verify his injuries since the paperwork for his third Purple Heart was processed, but apparently was lost or misplaced.

	b.  His personnel and medical records are incomplete and missing important material.  If they were complete, they would show he was wounded on 13 June 1968.

	c.  He is at a disadvantage because of the missing records, not of his own making, and the eye-witness accounts can fairly, honestly, and justifiably offset the missing records.

	d.  He should not be penalized and denied relief because records are missing for which he had no control or custody.

	e.  Retired and now deceased General G____ K____ O____ believed he should have been awarded the Medal of Honor.  In August 2011, a request for award of the Medal of Honor was submitted to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC).

	f.  In February 2013, the renewed Medal of Honor effort was assumed by retired Major J____ H____.  The Medal of Honor request was reviewed by several personnel at HRC and finally by Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) W____ B____ N____.  On 23 December 2014, LTC N____ stated:

		(1)  the request could not be acted upon because the applicant had a request pending before the ABCMR regarding his entitlement to the Silver Star; and,

		(2)  the original documentation for the applicant's Silver Star (1st Award) was required or a letter from the National Archives and Records Administration stating the original documentation did not exist.

	g.  His earlier request to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) regarding his entitlement to award of a third Purple Heart has nothing to do with his award of the Silver Star (1st Award) or the Medal of Honor award recommendation.

	h.  He and Major H____ submitted a letter from the National Archives and Records Administration stating the original documentation did not exist.  A waiver of the requirement for submitting the original documentation for award of the Silver Star (1st Award) is needed to support the Medal of Honor award recommendation.

	i.  Personnel at HRC appear to have no interest in his Medal of Honor effort and provide new excuses as to why the renewed effort cannot be considered.

4.  The applicant provides:

* two self-authored statements dated 27 May 2014 and 31 January 2015
* six eye-witness statements
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214)
* Military Review extracts, September-October 2014
* HRC correspondence
* National Archives correspondence



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant has not exhausted his administrative appeal to HRC regarding award of the Medal of Honor in accordance with Title 10 of the U.S. Code Section 1130.  Therefore, this issue will not be discussed further in this Record of Proceedings.  The applicant is urged to provide HRC with a copy of this and his earlier Record of Proceedings.  Should HRC not resolve this issue to the applicant's satisfaction and he feels that an error or injustice still exists; he may submit a new application to this Board and include evidence of the denial of his request for award of the Medal of Honor.  He must include a complete copy of the Medal of Honor award recommendation with supporting evidence should he appeal to this Board.

2.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR20120012637 on 30 May 2013.

3.  The applicant provided new arguments not previously considered by the Board that warrant consideration at this time.  He also provided six statements from former Soldiers as new evidence.  However, in review the six statements submitted with his initial application and letter dated 27 May 2014 were previously considered by the Board on 30 May 2013 and therefore will not be further considered in this Record of Proceedings.

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 May 1966.

5.  He served in Korea prior to arriving in Vietnam on or about 8 August 1967.  While in Vietnam, he was assigned to Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division.  He participated in five campaigns.

6.  A DA Form 8-275-3 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet), dated 19 February 1968, shows the applicant sustained fragment wounds to his face by hostile forces on the same date.  Item 25 (Selected Administrative Data) of this form shows the entry:  "Recommended for the Purple Heart – Purple Heart not awarded this station."

7.  Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders Number 5171, dated 17 July 1968, awarded the applicant the Purple Heart with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster for wounds received in action on 31 January 1968.

8.  Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders Number 6202, dated 4 September 1968, amended General Orders Number 5171 to read "Purple Heart" instead of "Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster)."
9.  On 29 December 1968, the applicant was honorably released from active duty.  His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded or authorized the:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
* Silver Star
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Bronze Star Medal
* Purple Heart with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster

10.  The applicant argued that his personnel and medical records were incomplete and missing important material.  He stated he should not be penalized and denied relief because the records were missing and he had no control or custody of them.

11.  On 30 May 2013, the ABCMR determined his DD Form 214 properly showed he was awarded the Purple Heart with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster.

12.  On 30 June 2013, a DD Form 215 was issued to the applicant to show other authorized awards, decorations, and badges.

13.  A review of the Vietnam casualty listing shows the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action by enemy forces on 31 January 1968 and 19 February 1968.  It does not show he was wounded as a result of hostile action by enemy forces on 13 June 1968.

14.  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 HRC's Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action 13 June 1968.

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.  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 at the time of the wounding, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Award of 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.  Although the applicant argues that his personnel and medical records are missing important material and the eye-witness statements verify his injury in action on 13 June 1968, these arguments are an insufficient evidentiary basis in and of themselves to grant the 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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20120012637, dated 30 May 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)                                         AR20140009655



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140009655



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