BOARD DATE: 8 March 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150005664 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, in effect, reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states his service treatment records show he was wounded on various occasions. 3. The applicant provides: * Department of Veterans Affairs Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim), dated 23 March 2015 * copies of documents from his medical records 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 AR20140013253, dated 10 March 2015. 2. The applicant provides a new argument pertaining to award of the Purple Heart that was not previously considered by the board as well as a Department of Veterans Affairs Form 21-4138. Therefore, his request warrants consideration by the Board at this time. 3. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 7 July 1967. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 62B (Engineer Equipment Repairman). 4. He provided a copy of a Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care) showing he was treated on the following dates for the conditions noted: * 26 March 1968 – he cut his left index finger and a dressing was applied * 29 March 1968, 1 April 1968, and 3 April 1968 – follow-up examinations, his wound was cleaned and a dressing was applied * 8 April 1968 – his sutures were removed * 4 September 1968 – seen in the 24th Evacuation Hospital emergency room for an injury to his left big toe, his injured toe was splinted and taped to the adjacent toe 5. He provided a copy of a Standard Form 519A (Radiographic Report), dated 4 September 1968, showing x-rays revealed he fractured his left big toe because he dropped 100-pound block of ice on his foot. 6. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in: * item 31 (Foreign Service) – he was credited with service in Vietnam from 9 February 1698 to 8 February 1969 * item 40 (Wounds) – no entry indicating he was wounded as a result of hostile action * item 41 (Awards and Decorations) – no entry for the Purple Heart 7. On 6 July 1970, he was honorably released from active duty. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 8. His complete service medical records are not available for review. 9. A review of his records failed to reveal orders awarding him the Purple Heart. 10. Nothing in several typical sources shows the applicant was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart: * his records do not contain general orders awarding him the Purple Heart * his name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing * review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, 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 * his complete medical records are not available for review with this case * his available records do not contain an official Army notification or a Western Union telegram notifying his next of kin of an injury he sustained as a result of hostile action 11. On 12 March 2015, the ABCMR denied his request for award of the Purple Heart due to lack of substantiating evidence. 12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that 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. a. Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows: injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap; injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent; injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire; and/or concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions. b. Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows: frostbite or trench foot injuries; heat stroke; food poisoning not caused by enemy agents; chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy; battle fatigue; disease not directly caused by enemy agents; accidents, to include an explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action; self-inflicted wounds, except when in the heat of battle and not involving gross negligence; post-traumatic stress disorders; and/or jump injuries not caused by enemy action. 13. 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. The ABCMR considers individual applications that are properly brought before it. In appropriate cases, it directs or recommends correction of military records to remove an error or injustice. The ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. The ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record. It is not an investigative body. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant’s contentions were carefully considered. 2. The criteria for award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. 3. The applicant’s record is void of evidence and he has not provided any evidence showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. 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 AR20140013253, dated 10 March 2015. ___________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) AR20150003307 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150005664 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1