BOARD DATE: 16 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150016701 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 BOARD DATE: 16 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150016701 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20130020689 on 5 August 2014. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds incurred in action during his service in the Republic of Vietnam and adding 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. BOARD DATE: 16 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150016701 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 previous request for award of the Purple Heart and addition of this award to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge). 2. The applicant states he is requesting his DD Form 214 be updated with the Purple Heart. He received a shrapnel wound to his chest and his right forearm from assisting Rangers in an ambush at "Alfa Four" (sic). He believes these records are still with the unit and have been since 1971. 3. The applicant provides: * Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Decision, undated * VA laboratory results letter, dated 18 March 2015 * self-authored letter, dated 23 March 2015 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 AR20130020689 on 5 August 2014. 2. The applicant provides new evidence that consists of a letter from the VA that shows he received a service connected disability rating for shrapnel in the chest and a fragment wound to his right forearm with a scar and retained foreign bodies. This new evidence warrants consideration by the Board. 3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 29 January 1970. He was trained in and held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). 4. A DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in: * item 38 (Record of Assignments) – he was assigned to duty in Vietnam from 5 August 1970 to 29 August 1971 with Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division (Mechanized) * item 40 (Wounds) – no entry of a combat wound or injury 5. On 5 September 1971, the applicant was honorably released from active duty in the rank/grade of sergeant (SGT)/E-5. 6. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded or authorized the: * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * Vietnam Service Medal * National Defense Service Medal * Expert Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16) * Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Bade with Rifle Bar (M-14 * Combat Infantryman Badge 7. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is 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 the applicant. 9. The applicant’s name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing. 10. His records do not contain an official Army message or a Western Union telegram notifying his next of kin of an injury or wound. This was the notification method used at the time. 11. The applicant provides: a. An undated VA Disability Rating letter that shows he received a 20 percent service-connected disability rating for shrapnel in his chest and a 10 percent service-connected disability rating for a fragment wound to his right forearm with a scar and retained foreign bodies at 10 percent. The effective date of the rating is 19 November 2014. b. A VA laboratory results letter, dated 18 March 2015, notes that the applicant has shrapnel in his chest and right forearm. c. A self-authored letter, in which he states he has shrapnel in his chest and in his right forearm from assisting Rangers in an ambush. He states that these records are in the unit’s possession and have been since 1971. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and 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. 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 2. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9, states 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 placed in item 40. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant requests reconsideration of his previous request to be awarded the PH Medal for wounds he received in Vietnam. He provides new documentation from the VA to show he received service-connected disability ratings for shrapnel in his chest and a fragment wound on his right forearm with a scar and retained foreign bodies. 2. The criteria for the PH require substantiating evidence to verify that an injury/wound was the result of hostile action and that the injury/wound required medical treatment by medical personnel. The medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. 3. Other than his own statement, there is no evidence conclusively showing that the shrapnel in his chest and the fragment wound of his right forearm for which he has received service-connected disability ratings were the result of hostile action. 4. The Board must determine if a preponderance of the evidence shows the applicant incurred wounds meeting the criteria for award of the Purple Heart. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150016701 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150016701 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2