IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 3 June 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080003611 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 award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states that the hospital triage records would clearly show that a blow to the right upper arm caused his injury; however, he has been trying to obtain those records for the last 30 years with no success. He recently received correspondence from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) that states, “Often service medical records do not contain entries of treatment given to veterans who served during a period of war and engaged in combat with the enemy.” For whatever reason his treatment records are absent from his files, he is asking that his account of the injuries he received be presumptive and be considered a true and accurate account of how he was wounded. 3. The applicant provides an undated document from the DVA. 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 AR20070011629 on 15 January 2008. 2. The undated document from the DVA provided by the applicant is new evidence that will be considered by the Board. 3. The applicant was inducted into the Army on 5 August 1969. He arrived in Vietnam and was assigned to the 14th Signal Company, 37th Signal Battalion, on 7 September 1970 for duty as a wheel vehicle repairman. 4. In his original application, the applicant stated he received a blow to his right upper arm while escaping from a guard tower during enemy rocket fire. 5. A message, dated 1 December 1970, stated the applicant was admitted to the 95th Evacuation Hospital on 26 November 1970 and diagnosed with phlebitis (inflammation of a vein) of the right arm. The message did not indicate the circumstances under which the applicant acquired that medical condition. He was medically evacuated to Guam after a complaint of pain and swelling in his right arm. He was medically evacuated to the States in March 1971 and was diagnosed with a thrombosis (blood clot) in his right auxiliary vein. The clot was removed. 6. The applicant was released from active duty on 8 March 1971. 7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States. The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record. When contemplating an award of the Purple Heart, the key issue commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. It is recognized that service medical records often do not contain entries of treatment given to Soldiers who served during a period of war and engaged in combat with the enemy. The DVA, following its own policies and procedures, may accept the statements of veterans as sufficient to show an injury was incurred under those circumstances. 2. However, merely to have been injured while engaged in combat with the enemy is not sufficient for the purpose of awarding the Purple Heart. Consideration must be taken of the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. 3. The applicant was injured severely enough to require medical evacuation out of Vietnam. It would appear that his commander would have had time enough to determine the degree to which the enemy caused his injury and that he determined that the degree was not sufficient to warrant award of the Purple Heart. 4. In the absence of evidence to the contrary the applicant’s account of how he was injured is not doubted; however, there still is insufficient evidence to show that the enemy caused his injury to the degree that would warrant granting him award of the Purple Heart. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___xx___ ___xx___ ___xx___ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20070011629 dated 15 January 2008. _ ______xxxx_____________ 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) AR20080003611 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080003611 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1