IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  6 October 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150003522 


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 request for award of the Purple Heart and submits a new request for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

2.  He states the Board denied his request for award of the Purple Heart based on the available evidence.  However, he now has a letter from his former commander in Vietnam who witnessed his injury.  He requests the Board retrieve morning reports and/or status transactions attaching him to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment.

3.  The applicant provides a statement of support.

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 AR20140004778, on 30 October 2014.

2.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 August 1969.  After completing basic and advanced individual training he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13A (Field Artillery Basic).  He served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 9 January to 3 December 1970.  He was honorably released from active duty on 12 August 1971.


3.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

   a.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) that during his tenure in the RVN he was assigned to both C and B Battery, 1st Battalion (Airmobile), 321st Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in duty MOS 13A.  His principal duty title was listed as field artillery basic and cannoneer, respectively.

	b.  Item 40 (Wounds) no entry.

	c  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry concerning the Purple Heart or CIB.

4.  Item 24 of his DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart or CIB.

5.  There is no documentation in the available record that shows he sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.  His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty listing.  Additionally, there are no orders awarding him the Purple Heart or CIB.

6.  There is no evidence to show that while the applicant was assigned to the 1st Battalion (Airmobile), 321st Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in the RVN, he was attached or serving duty with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment and participated in active ground combat.

7.  Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), 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 the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

8.  In a statement dated 24 January 2015, an individual who indicated he was the commander of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment (Airmobile) 101st Airborne Division had witnessed the applicant's wounding.  He explained that the applicant was serving as a member of a forward observer party attached to D Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment and he was wounded during a mortar attack at Fire Base Gladiator in the RVN.  He added that he was unsure of the date, but estimated it to have been in April 1970.

9.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Decorations and Awards), in effect at the time, provided that the Purple Heart was awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who was wounded in action against an armed enemy of the United States or as a direct result of an act of such enemy provided the wound necessitated treatment by a medical officer.  For the purpose of considering an award of this decoration, a "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), currently in effect, states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or 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.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states there are basically three requirements for award of the CIB.  The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat.

12.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR.  Paragraph 2-9 contains guidance on the burden of proof.  It states, in pertinent part, that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity, which is that what the Army did was correct.  The ABCMR is not an investigative body and decides cases based on the evidence that is presented in the military records provided and the independent evidence submitted with the application. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.  
	
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the veracity of the statement provided by the former commander of 
D Company is not in question, there are no medical records available which show the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam.  In the absence of such evidence, there appears to be an insufficient basis for award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  There is no evidence in the available records to show the applicant should be awarded the CIB.  There is no evidence that the applicant served in an infantry MOS and was assigned to an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size during such time as the unit was engaged in active ground combat, which is required by regulation for award of the CIB.  In view of these facts, there appears to be an insufficient basis for award of the CIB.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x___  ____x___  ___x ____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 AR20140004778, dated 30 October 2014.

2.  In regard to the new issue, 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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20150003522





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150003522



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