BOARD DATE: 10 December 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150004525 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: a. He was injured while serving as an active duty Soldier in Vietnam in August 1969. b. In his previous request he included supporting documents, but did not have any medical records to support his claim. Since that time, he discovered there are minimal medical records in existence from the period of time he was serving on active duty. There are only three service treatment records. c. His records are stored in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system and his VA rating decision is based on these records. d. The medical records he submitted show evidence of shell fragment wounds and major hearing loss which support his claim of being injured in a blast while serving in Vietnam. 3. The applicant provides: * self-authored statement * VA Form 21-526 (Veteran's Application for Compensation or Pension) * VA Form 21-2545 (Report of Medical Examination for Disability Evaluation) * Standard Forms 507 (Clinical Record), dated 28 April 1972 * VA Form 10-2364 (Audiometric Examination) * VA Rating Decision, dated 16 December 2004 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 AR20130017793 on 24 June 2014. 2. The applicant provided documentation from his VA medical records subsequent to his release from active duty which was not previously considered by the Board. This documentation is new evidence that warrants consideration by the Board at this time. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 6 January 1969 for a period of 3 years. He served as a rough terrain forklift and loader operator in Vietnam from 8 June 1969 to 11 January 1970. 4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 5. His Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 13 January 1970, shows he underwent a separation physical examination which makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Items 18 (Head, Face, Neck, and Scalp), 35 (Upper Extremities), 37 (Lower Extremities), and 38 (Spine, Other Musculoskeletal) of this form show he was rated normal. 6. His Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History), dated 13 January 1970, shows he had a right ear infection in Vietnam in 1969. This form also shows he answered "No" to the following questions: * Have you ever had any illnesses or injury other than those already noted? * Have you consulted or been treated by clinics, physicians, healers or other practitioners within the past 5 years? 7. On 13 January 1970, he was honorably released from active duty. 8. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 9. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in his available records. 10. His available service records do not contain his medical records other than those previously listed. 11. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster. 12. 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 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant. 13. On 24 June 2014, the ABCMR denied his request for award of the Purple Heart. The ABCMR determined the evidence presented in the form of his VA Rating Decision was insufficient to conclusively show he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action. 14. The applicant provided: a. a VA Form 21-526, dated 3 August 1971, showing he submitted an application for VA compensation or pension for hearing loss caused by a blast in Vietnam in August 1969; b. a VA Form 21-2545, dated 28 April 1972, showing he applied for VA compensation for headaches and hearing loss; c. a Standard Form 507, dated 28 April 1972, stating he sustained shell fragment wounds of the neck, right shoulder, and thigh in August 1969 and he has shell fragment wound scars on his neck and thigh; d. a Standard Form 507, dated 28 April 1972, stating a bomb exploded near his truck on 11 August 1969 in Vietnam and inflicted wounds to his back, neck, and right leg; and e. a VA Rating Decision, dated 16 December 2004, which was previously considered showing he was granted service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder; right thigh shell fragment wound residuals and peroneal nerve involvement and paresthesia of right leg; right hip degenerative joint disease, secondary to right thigh shell fragment wound; tinnitus; defective hearing; and back of neck and right shoulder shell fragment wound scars. 15. He also provided a personal statement wherein he contends he was injured in Vietnam on 14 December 1969. He states that while riding in a jeep, a rocket exploded next to the jeep. The force of the impact lifted the jeep and he was thrown from the jeep. He remembers lying in the road in shock. He was bleeding badly from his right thigh. He was loaded on a gurney and taken to a hospital. Once he returned to his home in Wisconsin, he received medical care for his injures in a VA hospital. As a result of his injuries on active duty, he has been awarded permanent 100-percent disability. 16. 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. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant contends he was injured while serving in Vietnam in August 1969 and he also claims he was injured on 14 December 1969 in his personal statement to the Board. 2. The evidence of record shows he underwent a separation physical examination on 13 January 1970 which makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. His neck, upper extremities, lower extremities, and spine were rated normal. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster. 3. Although the Standard Forms 507 document shell fragment wound scars to his neck, right shoulder, and thigh, these forms do not conclusively state he was wounded as a result of hostile action. 4. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, treatment of the wound by military medical personnel, and documentation of the wound in official records. 5. In the absence of corroborating evidence showing he was injured and treated for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam, the VA documentation and Standard Forms 507 prepared subsequent to his release from active duty are not sufficient in and of themselves for award of the Purple Heart. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ 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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20130017793, dated 24 June 2014. ___________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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150004525 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150004525 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1