ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


                   IN THE CASE OF:  

                   BOARD DATE:  6 October 2020

                   DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20200002109


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)

FACTS:

1.  The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10,          
U.S. Code, section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military 
Records 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 is requesting a Purple Heart for an injury he sustained in 
2005.  He was injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion.  He was 
examined and treated by a doctor with the 101st Infantry Division.  The doctor informed 
his company commander he needed to be put in for a Purple Heart due to the injuries 
he sustained.  The award was never written.  It was an award he should have received 
at the time the injury occurred.  

3.  The applicant's available service records contain the following documents for the 
Board's consideration:

	a.  A DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), dated 23 August 2005, which 
shows he was put in and approved for the Army Commendation Medal for service in 
Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06.

	b.  Permanent Order, published by the Department of Military Affairs, State of , dated  
March, which awarded him the Combat Action Badge for personally and actively 
engaging/being engaged by an enemy while assigned duty in an authorized hostile fire 
or imminent danger pay area of operations and performing satisfactorily in accordance 
with prescribed rules of engagement.

	c.  Orders, published by Headquarters, United States Army Garrison, Fort Bragg, 
dated 8 June , which shows the applicant was retired from the Regular Army and placed 
on the temporary disability retirement list effective August .

	d.  A document entitled Physical Disability Information Report, dated 1 July 2016, 
which shows the applicant received a 70 percent disability rating for an injury or disease 
received in the line of duty as a direct result of armed conflict or caused by an 
instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war as defined 
by law.  

	e.  A DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the 
period ending 21 August 2016, which does not include the Purple Heart and shows he 
was retired due to temporary disability.  

	f.  A DA Form 199 (Informal Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) Proceedings), dated 
2 March which places the applicant on the permanent disability retirement list for his 
post-traumatic stress disorder.  There is no mention in the PEB regarding an IED attack.

	g.  Order, published by US Army Physical Disability Agency, dated 
 April which shows the applicant was permanently retired effective April  with 70 percent 
disability.  

	h.  The applicant's service record is void of medical documentation showing he was 
wounded in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action and documentation 
showing he was recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart.  

5.  See applicable references below.  

BOARD DISCUSSION:

1.  After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found relief 
is not warranted.

2.  Other than his own statement, the available evidence does not confirm that the 
applicant incurred an injury as a result of hostile action.  The criteria for award of the 
Purple Heart require substantiating evidence to verify that the wound was the result of 
hostile action and that the wound required treatment from medical personnel.  In the 
absence of such evidence, the Board determined there is no basis for awarding him the 
Purple Heart at this time.  
?

BOARD VOTE:

Mbr 1	Mbr 2	Mbr 3

:	:	:	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 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, U.S. 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 Army Board for Correction of Military 
Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute 
of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  

2.  Army Regulation  600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 that the wound was the result of 
hostile action, the wound must have required medical treatment from medical 
personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  
//NOTHING FOLLOWS//

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20200002109
	
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