IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 February 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015392 BOARD VOTE: ____x____ ___x___ ____x___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 February 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015392 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20040004920, dated 10 May 2005. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding award of the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214. _____________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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 February 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015392 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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states: a. He was wounded in action on 2 July 1970 and the Army didn't document it, but new evidence will show his fragmentation wounds (face and right shoulder) were the result of enemy action. b. A Purple Heart medal was pinned to his chest while he was hospitalized. c. The Army never put documentation in his service records that he was wounded in action and he has suffered and felt let down for more than 40 years. d. He was wounded in action on 2 July 1979 in the same blast that killed another Soldier. 3. The applicant provides: * letter from a Veterans Service Officer, dated 9 September 2015 * poem by the applicant * DD Form 214 * DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) * documentation pertaining to disability compensation * photographs * documentation describing events of 2 July 1970 * Veterans of Foreign Wars Magazine article titled "Rendezvous at Ripcord," dated September 2010 * documentation from a book titled Ripcord * post-traumatic stress disorder assessment, dated 16 May 2014 * excerpts from Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 AR20040004920 on 10 May 2005. 2. The documentation provided by the applicant is new evidence that was not previously considered by the Board and warrants consideration at this time. 3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 19 June 1969. He served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 5 December 1969 to 27 August 1970. 4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows the entry "FGW [fragment wound] – Face and Right Shoulder" incurred on 2 July 1970. 5. On 18 June 1971, he was honorably released from active duty. 6. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart. 7. On 10 May 2005, the ABCMR denied his request to add the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214. 8. He provided a letter from a Veterans Service Officer, dated 9 September 2015, stating: a. The Purple Heart medal was presented to the applicant by a major general aboard the U.S.S. Sanctuary, but was not documented in his service records. b. The documentation provided describes events of 2 July 1970 that clearly show the applicant's unit was attacked from 0346 to 0420 in the morning with seven Soldiers being killed in action and six Soldiers being wounded in action. c. The applicant's post-traumatic stress disorder assessment, dated 16 May 2014, shows the applicant describes in detail being wounded in action on 2 July 1970 when another Soldier was killed in action. d. The evidence makes it clear the fragmentation wounds the applicant received on 2 July 1970 were caused by the enemy. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), 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 the date the wound or injury occurred would also be entered in item 40. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 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. DISCUSSION: The applicant contends he was wounded in action on 2 July 1970 in Vietnam and the entry in item 40 of his DA Form 20 showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action on 2 July 1970 confirms his entitlement to award of the Purple Heart. His DD Form 214 does not show this medal. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150015392 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150015392 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2