IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 12 November 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150003776 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 prior request for award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states he was wounded when his jeep was hit by a mortar round. He did not receive the Purple Heart because his first sergeant did not believe the injury was bad enough to receive it. The battle at Ben Het in Vietnam lasted more than 180 days and there was no medic on his fire base because the medic was sent out with the seriously wounded when they were medically evacuated from the battle. His citation for award of the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device shows he was wounded. 3. The applicant provides as evidence to support his application: * DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) * DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) * 13 pages of service personnel records * 26 pages of service medical records * a letter of support (referred to as a "Buddy Statement") * a Vietnam Veterans Magazine article * General Orders Number 633 - Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device * a newspaper article CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in a previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20090019338, on 18 May 2010. 2. Army Regulation 15-185 sets forth the policy and procedures for the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). It provides that, if a request for a reconsideration is received within one year of the prior consideration and the case has not been previously reconsidered, it will be resubmitted to the Board if there is evidence (including but not limited to any facts or arguments as to why relief should be granted) that was not in the record at the time of the Board’s prior consideration. This case is being considered as an exception to policy. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 20 September 1967, completed training, and was awarded military occupational specialty 36K (Wireman). 4. He served in Vietnam from 15 January 1969 through 15 January 1970 with B Battery, 6th Battalion, 14th Artillery Regiment. 5. His official DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in: * Item 40 (Wounds), no entry * Item 41 (Awards and Decorations), no entry for the Purple Heart 6. He was honorably released from active duty in the rank of sergeant/pay grade E-5 on 18 September 1970. He was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his military service obligation. His DD Form 214 lists among his awards the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device. It does not list the Purple Heart. 7. A review of the Vietnam Casualty List failed to reveal any reference to the applicant being wounded in action. 8. 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant. 9. The service medical records provided by the applicant show: * he suffered from heart palpitations or pounding and prolonged bleeding from an injury prior to service * his military entrance examination noted the preservice heart issue but found no abnormalities at that time * no treatment for any injury or wound incurred as a result of hostile action * his separation examination found no abnormalities * he did not require processing through the medical disability evaluation process 10. In his "buddy statement", a fellow Soldier recounts that the applicant was the noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of the communications section. On 23 June 1969, in the middle of the night, the applicant and others were asked and agreed to assist with retrieving wounded personnel. The applicant had already made several trips when his vehicle received a direct hit from a mortar round. When the applicant returned to the communications section, he was dazed, had some cuts, and his uniform was torn. This was reported to the chain of command but because his injuries did not appear to be serious and there was no unit medic available, no treatment was rendered. 11. The applicant's Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device general order states that on 23 June 1969: At 0330 hours, while the North Hill was under heavy ground and mortar attack, [the applicant] volunteered to take whole blood and a doctor to a critically wounded man on the hill. Although he was fully aware that there were enemy Soldiers inside the North Hill's wire at the time and that he could expect sniper fire on the half mile long trip over steep and slippery roads, [the applicant] volunteered for the trip without hesitation. He then helped to defend the perimeter and to shuttle wounded to the helipad. Later the same morning he volunteered to make the trip a second time to carry seriously wounded Vietnamese soldiers to the medical evacuation helicopter. On the way, his vehicle received a direct hit by an 82 mm mortar, but he managed to move the personnel the rest of the way to the helicopter despite the heavy volume of incoming rounds. 12. The undated newspaper article notes that the applicant's vehicle was hit by a mortar round and he received the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for his heroic actions on 23 June 1969. The article does not state the applicant sustained any injuries during the mortar attack. 13. On 18 May 2010, the ABCMR denied that the applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart. The Board did award him the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award), multiple unit awards, and his weapon qualification badges. 14. The Department of Defense Instruction 1348.33, Volume 3, subject: Manual of Military Decorations and Awards: DoD Wide Performance and Valor Award; Foreign Award, Military Awards to Foreign Personnel and U.S. Public Health Services Officers; and Miscellaneous Information states the Purple Heart is governed by Executive Order 11016 which authorizes the Secretary of a Military Department to award the Purple Heart to any member of the armed force under the jurisdiction of that department. The wound for which the award is made must have been of such severity that it required treatment, not merely examination, by a medical officer. Additionally, treatment of the wound shall be documented in the Service member’s medical and/or health record. Award of the Purple Heart may be made for wounds treated by a medical professional other than a medical officer provided a medical officer include a statement in the Service member’s medical records that the extend of the wounds were such that they would have required treatment by a medical officer if one had been available to treat them. 15. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that 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. 16. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9 of the version in effect at the time, stated a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization, would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20. This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be entered in item 40. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. His heroic actions on 23 June 1969 under extremely hazardous conditions during an enemy mortar attack is not in question. What is in question and must be addressed by sufficient evidence is was the applicant injured and if injured, did his injury require medical attention by a medical officer and did the medical officer document his treatment? 2. The applicant did not provide and the record does not contain any evidence that shows that he was treated for wounds that were incurred by enemy forces on 23 June 1969 while he was transporting wounded Soldiers to a helipad for further medical evacuation. What is known is that the military vehicle he was driving was damaged by a mortar round. 3. By his own admission, the first sergeant at the time did not observe the applicant with wounds that required the attention of a medical officer. Nor does the record show that subsequent to the mortar attack the applicant sought immediate medical treatment for wounds potentially incurred during the battle. 4. The limited statement of his battle buddy is insufficient evidence to award the Purple Heart. The Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device citation does not state the applicant was wounded by enemy forces during the night of his heroic actions. 5. Regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows that he sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that he was treated by a medical officer for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is insufficient evidence to grant the applicant’s request. . 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 AR20090019338, dated 18 May 2010. __________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) AR20150003776 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150003776 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1