BOARD DATE: 24 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160011565 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: 24 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160011565 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 AR20040002168, dated 24 February 2005. _____________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: 24 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160011565 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 earlier requests to correct his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states: a. He and a comrade carried an injured Soldier to safety after a mortar exploded. During the mortar explosion, he was hit with shrapnel in his left armpit and a piece of wood shot through his right thigh. Remnants of the wood remain embedded in his leg. b. He received the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart at Cu Chi, Vietnam. 3. The applicant provides: * two VA Forms 21-4138 (Department of Veterans Affairs Statement in Support of Claim), dated 14 June 2016 * statements and claims for medical procedures dated 1993 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 AR20040002168 on 24 February 2005. 2. The applicant's contentions and supporting 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 5 January 1966. He served as postal clerk in Vietnam from 15 June 1966 to 14 June 1967. 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 14 November 1967, 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 35 (Upper Extremities), 37 (Lower Extremities) and 39 (Identifying Body Marks, Scars, Tattoos) of this this form show he was rated normal with no physician's notes. 6. On 2 January 1968, he was honorably released from active duty. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 7. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the 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. He provided: a. A VA Form 21-4138, dated 14 June 2016, stating he does not have any Army medical records of his wounds, but the Army does. They list it as a boil and a bad headache. He was walking back from the shower and a mortar hit in front of him and blew him up in the air. He received shrapnel under his armpit and a big chunk of wood went in his right leg. Part of the wood is still in his leg. He was 19 years old and scared to death. He did not go to the doctor for some time. He kept squeezing pieces of metal from his arm. Then it got infected, so he finally went to the doctor. The doctor lanced it and placed gauze in his arm to let it drain. That is why they called it a boil. The headaches were from hitting the ground so hard. He contends he has a scar on his right leg and a scar under his left arm from the mortar blast. b. A second VA Form 21-4138, dated 14 June 2016, stating all he remembers was dirt flying. He saw a young man in front of him screaming and blood came out of his face. The blast hit the applicant and another guy. They were thrown to the ground. They got up and picked up the man who was hit and they dragged him to a bunker. He felt blood from under his arm and a piece of wood was stuck in his leg. His leg healed, but it still has a piece of wood in it. His armpit got infected, so he went to the doctor. They cut it open, put gauze in it, and sewed it up. He went back later and they pulled the gauze out. c. Statements and claims for medical procedures in 1993. 11. On 24 February 2005, the ABCMR denied his request for award of the Purple Heart. 12. On 8 December 2005, the ABCMR denied his request for reconsideration for award of the Purple Heart. 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. 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. The applicant contends he was wounded during a mortar explosion and was hit with shrapnel in his left armpit and a piece of wood shot through his right thigh in Vietnam. 2. 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 a medical officer, and documentation of the wound in official records. 3. The evidence of record shows he underwent a separation physical examination on 14 November 1967 that makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. His upper and lower extremities were rated normal and he did not have any notable scars. 4. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster and item 40 of his DA Form 20 is blank. 5. Although he contends he was awarded the Purple Heart in Vietnam, there are no orders for award of the Purple Heart in the available records. 6. There is no evidence of record confirming his claim that he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160011565 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160011565 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2