BOARD DATE: 5 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004906 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x_____ ___x_____ __x___ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 5 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004906 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 Army Board for Correction of Military Records set forth in Docket Number AR20140015761, dated 23 April 2015. ___________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: 5 December 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004906 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. The telegram he provided clearly states he was transferred from Vietnam to the 249th General Hospital in Japan. While there, he was treated for malaria which he contracted in Vietnam. b. His Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) is in error since he was wounded in Vietnam. c. The Report of Morning Report Search, dated 19 June 1973, shows he was on convalescent leave from 22 November 1969 through 17 January 1970. He was not on leave, but a patient in the Ireland Army Hospital. d. On 2 September 1969, his company sustained a rocket attack by the enemy; as a result a fellow Soldier loaded his weapon. The following afternoon the applicant was wounded by the Soldier's loaded weapon that he thought was unloaded. Had it not been for the enemy action, the weapon would not have been loaded. The applicant can still hear the Soldier screaming that he didn't know the weapon was loaded. His injuries were the direct result of enemy action. His commander told him he would recommend him for award of the Purple Heart. e. He provided a newspaper article noting a change in eligibility for award of the Purple Heart. 3. The applicant provides: * self-authored letter, dated 19 February 2016 * message, dated March 1970 * newspaper article 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 AR20140015761 on 23 April 2015. 2. The applicant's contentions and documentation are new evidence that were not previously considered by the Board and warrant consideration at this time. 3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 February 1969. He served as a crane shovel operator in Vietnam from 17 July through 4 October 1969. 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, dated 14 December 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. 6. On 12 February 1971, he was honorably released from active duty. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 7. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in his available records. 8. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster. 9. 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. 10. His Report of Morning Report Search, dated 19 June 1973, shows he was on convalescent leave from 22 November 1969 through 17 January 1970. 11. He provided a newspaper article, dated 15 March 2015, pertaining to three Marines serving in Vietnam who were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart after their helicopter was shot down by an American helicopter. The article also states a change to the law in 1993 granted eligibility to those who had been wounded by American ordnance intended to cause an enemy harm. REFERENCES: 1. 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 the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. The regulation also states accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action, are examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart. A service member who is killed or wounded in action by friendly fire is also eligible for award of the Purple Heart. An eligible service member is one who is killed or wounded in action by weapon fire while directly engaged in armed conflict, other than as the result of an act of an enemy of the United States 2. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), in effect at the time, stated 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. The instructions further stated the date the wound or injury occurred would also be entered in item 40. DISCUSSION: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes the basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment was documented in official records. 2. The message provided by the applicant states he sustained a gunshot wound of the abdomen while serving in Vietnam on 3 September 1969. The message does not indicate he was injured as a result of hostile action. 3. Although he contends his injuries were the direct result of enemy action, he clearly indicates he was accidentally wounded by a fellow Soldier the day after a rocket attack. He attests the Soldier didn't know the weapon was loaded. 4. The governing regulation states an accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action is an example of an injury or wound which clearly does not justify award of the Purple Heart. 5. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster and item 40 of his DA Form 20 is blank. 6. Although he contends his Standard Form 88 is in error since he was wounded in Vietnam, there is no evidence of record showing he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. 7. His contention that he was a patient in Ireland Army Hospital during the period 22 November 1969 through 17 January 1970 was noted. However, the Report of Morning Report Search, dated 19 June 1973, shows he was on convalescent leave from 22 November 1969 through 17 January 1970. In addition, the message he provided states he underwent surgery on 3 October 1969 at Ireland Army Hospital, he did well post-operatively, and he was assigned to the Medical Holding Company on 28 January 1970 pending reassignment. The evidence of record indicates he was on convalescent leave until his reassignment on 28 January 1970. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004906 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004906 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2