ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 12 March 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160014083 APPLICANT REQUESTS: reconsideration of the decision of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to deny award of the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained on 25 November 1969 in Vietnam (Docket Number AR20150010535 on 28 June 2016). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * Self-authored statement * pages 1 and 3 of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Compensation and Pension Exam Report dated 21 October 2004 * Physical Profile Record * Standard Form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) FACTS: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records that were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR20150010535 on 28 June 2016. 2. In the applicant's appeal for reconsideration he states his new evidence is a copy of an exam done at the VA hospital in Syracuse, NY, on 12 October 2004. In this exam, a physician states the applicant sustained an injury to his lower back in a mine explosion in 1969. He notes that those are the VA’s words, not his. The applicant states he was on an armored personnel carrier that hit a mine on 25 November 1969. The blast from the mine knocked him out and he had broken bones in his back. The military did not evacuate him since he did not have visible injuries. It took him almost 9 months to get x-rays from the medical staff at the first aid station to show he still had cracked bones in his back. A doctor put him on profile, but failed to state how he sustained the injury. 3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 11 March 1969. He was assigned to duty with units in Vietnam from October 1969 to October 1970. 4. A review of his military service records and the Vietnam casualty roster showed no evidence indicating he was wounded as a result of hostile action. 5. The applicant provides a copy of a Physical Profile Record, dated 24 August 1970, which was reviewed in the previous case. This document shows a medical authority placed him on profile for traumatic spondylolysis (a small fracture of a bone of the back) on 24 August 1970. The form does not describe the cause of this injury. 6. In support of his previous application he provided a DA Form 1594 for the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 61st Infantry, dated 25 November 1969. This form shows that on 25 November 1969, B Company, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Brigade, had an APC hit a mine. Later at the same location, an individual in the same unit stepped on a land mine. One person was killed and one person was wounded in action. The DA Form 1594 does not list the applicant's name. 7. He provided a self- authored statement that describes events regarding the injuries he sustained on 25 November 1969, while assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry, in Vietnam. He states he rode in the lead APC traveling to meet up with the rest of his company. He remembered the vehicle made a right turn and he saw a large flash. He regained consciousness 15 feet from the vehicle and tried to figure out what happened. The drive wheel, 3-4 road wheels, and track came off the vehicle. Another Soldier stepped on a mine that killed him and the blast knocked the applicant down. After he returned to base camp a few days later, he went to the Battalion aid station. The medic looked at his back and gave him some blue and yellow pills. His back continued to hurt so he went back to the aid station three or four more times in the next couple of weeks. In February 1970, he sustained a burn from a pop-up flare and the medical staff medically evacuated him to the 18th Surgical Hospital in Quang tri. He asked the doctors to look at his back, but they replied that he just wanted to get out the field. In August 1970, he returned to the 18th Surgical Hospital where a doctor checked his back and took x-rays. The x-rays showed an unhealed fracture in his back. The doctor put him on a profile for 3 months, but he never described the injury. He contends that he broke bones in his back because of enemy action and he deserves a Purple Heart. He receives compensation from the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) for his injury. He contends he sustained the injury by enemy forces and received follow-up medical care. 8. He provides a letter of support from a former fellow Soldier, RND, dated 7 January 2015, who was the 81-millimeter Mortar Platoon leader. RND stated the applicant and other soldiers sustained serious but not life threatening injuries after their M125A mortar carrier ran over a mine. 9. He provides a second letter of support from a former fellow Soldier, WBH, dated 26 February 2015. He was the Platoon Sergeant. WBH stated his platoon travelled to connect with the rest of the company when the lead APC hit a mine. The impact threw the applicant and the other Soldiers out of the vehicle and they sustained injuries. He found the applicant unconscious, and found others injured and bleeding. WBH states the applicant did not want to be medically evacuated because he wanted to stay and support the rest of the platoon. 10. He provides a third letter of support from a former fellow Soldier, RKN, dated 28 April 2015, who was a Sergeant in B Company, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry. RKN stated he served with the applicant after the APC hit the mine. He stated other Soldiers had told him of the incident and how the impact of the mine had threw the applicant a considerable distance from the vehicle, injuring his back and knocking him unconscious. RKN claimed he knew that applicant went to see the medics on many occasions, but they did not do anything for him. RKN stated that a flare burned the applicant in 1970 and the command removed him from the field. The applicant told him that the doctors would not look at his back. RKN stated the applicant finally talked someone into taking x-rays that showed broken bones in his back and then a physician put him on profile. 11. The applicant provided a copy of his unit's staff journal or Duty Officer's Log during his period of service in Vietnam that confirms an APC hit a mine on 25 November 1969 with four individuals wounded in action. This document does not list the applicant's name. BOARD DISCUSSION: After review of the application and all evidence, the Board determined there is insufficient evidence to grant relief. The applicant’s contentions, letters of support, and medical documents were carefully considered. Based upon the preponderance of evidence, the Board agreed the information provided does not substantiate his entitlement to a Purple Heart. The back injury (reason for award request) was reported to medical personnel approximately 10 months after the date in which the applicant contends he was injured by enemy forces. There is no substantiating evidence that shows the medical diagnosis on 24 August 1970 was caused by enemy forces. 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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20150010535 on 28 June 2016. 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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): Not Applicable REFERENCES: Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160014083 2 1