IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 December 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20200000327 APPLICANT REQUESTS: award of the Purple Heart. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Letter to the Army Combat-Related Special Compensation * Extract from medical evaluation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) * Extract from book titled Vietnam – The Twisted Equation FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three-year period provided in Title 10, United States Code, section 1552(b); however, the ABCMR conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states he had a break in his right elbow that occurred during combat. He feels that he is eligible for the Purple Heart for this injury since it happened in combat. He just discovered in his records that this injury is combat-related and he never received the award for it. It was discovered in his medical evaluation on this day that he should have been awarded the Purple Heart. 3. The applicant was appointed as a Reserve Commissioned Officer on 26 August 1960, and completed various periods of active service. The period in question occurred during the period covered by his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending on 31 October 1975. 4. His Officer Record Brief shows he was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam for approximately 12 months and returned in July of 1967. However, section VIII (Awards and Decorations) is absent of an entry for the award of the Purple Heart. 5. On 30 September 1980, he was honorably retired from the Army and transferred to the US Army Reserve Control Group (Retired). His DD Form 214 shows he completed 4 years, and 11 months of net active service this period, and 15 years, 1 month, and 14 days of total prior active service, including 3 years, 2 months, and 25 days of total foreign service. His DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart. 6. The applicant provides the following in support of his request: a. A self-authored letter, dated 5 July 2006, to the Army’s Combat-Related Special Compensation wherein he stated he received a decision on 28 June 2006 from the VA informing him that his healed fracture of right olecranon (right elbow) was now considered to be a combat-related injury. His VA officer suggested he inform the CRSC Division of the new evaluation acknowledgement of his condition. b. Extracted Page 3 from an untitled document, which shows the evaluation of the applicant’s healed fracture of right olecranon was continued because no change had been shown. It also shows that in the applicant’s statement on 10 March 2006, he said his right elbow condition, fracture of the right olecranon, should be considered a combat-related condition. He said he fell on the elbow during an enemy ambush in Vietnam. The elbow remained stiff. His service medical records do not show when the injury was incurred. The first evidence of the elbow fracture is in an X-ray report from July 1967 from a private physician in Texas. However, his records do show that he was in combat in Vietnam, and that he was in Vietnam in early 1967. Therefore, the VA conceded that this was a combat-related injury. c. Page 56, Vietnam The Twisted Equation written by Tom Manning. 7. The applicant's available records do not contain orders for the Purple Heart, nor do they contain any documentation that indicates he was treated for wounds of injuries he sustained during his service in the Republic of Vietnam. 8. The applicant's record does not contain a DD Form 20 (Personnel Qualification Record), which would indicate which unit he was assigned to during his period of service in Vietnam. 9. A review of the Vietnam casualty roster, compiled by the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division, does not list the applicant's name as a casualty. 10. 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, failed to reveal any orders that confirm the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart. BOARD DISCUSSION: Per the regulatory guidance on awarding the Purple Heart, the applicant must provide or have in his service records substantiating evidence to verify that he was injured, 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. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found insufficient medical evidence to meet the regulatory standard for the Purple Heart and thus recommended denying the request. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING :XX :XXX :XX 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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, United States Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. 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 wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above. A physical lesion is not required. However, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment, not merely examination, by a medical officer. Additionally, treatment of the wound will 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 includes a statement in the service member’s medical record that the extent of the wounds was such that they would have required treatment by a medical officer if one had been available to treat them. 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 trap or mine * injury caused by enemy-released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent * injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire b. Examples of injuries or wounds, which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart, are as follows: * abrasions and lacerations (unless of a severity to be incapacitating) * bruises (unless caused by direct impact of the enemy weapon and severe enough to require treatment by a medical officer) * soft tissue injuries (for example, ligament, tendon, or muscle strains, sprains, and so forth) //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20200000327 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1