ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 17 April 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160017570 APPLICANT REQUESTS: award of the Purple Heart (PH). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) * Letter, Dr. X____, dated 16 September 2016 * Letter, Applicant, dated 26 September 2016 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states: a. He was as an Infantry Captain (Army Aviator) assigned to D Company, 227th Combat Assault Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, An Khe, Vietnam, from June 1966 through June 1967. He was assigned temporary duty to 175th Aviation Company in Ving Long, Vietnam, on the Mekong Delta. b. On 8 April 1967, while flying on a night mission his gunship came under hostile fire causing aluminum and Plexiglas fragments to penetrate his right forearm and hand. c. When he returned from the mission at daylight, he reported to the Flight Surgeon, Dr. X____, who removed metal fragments and cleaned the wounds. The Doctor said he was going to recommend him for the PH but he told him they were just flesh wounds and he didn't deserve the PH. On previous missions some of his crew members were seriously injured and killed and these actions justifiably earned them the PH. At the time he did not feel right about being awarded a PH for minor wounds. d. Dr. X____ reluctantly did not submit paperwork for the PH. He was on temporary duty at the time of the incident and his medical records do not reflect an entry on 8 or 9 April 1969. To his knowledge there is no supporting documentation. He strongly feels he deserves the PH because of other more severe injuries he received during his two tours in Vietnam. 3. On 3 November 1960, the applicant was ordered to active duty following Reserve Officer Training. He served in Vietnam from 1 July 1966 through 24 June 1967. 4. He provided a letter from Dr. X ____, dated 16 September 2016, in which he outlines the incident of 9 April 1967: a. "I do distinctly remember and recall treating [Applicant] in my 83rd Medical Dispensary. I cannot specifically describe the (right) forearm and hand wounds. However, what I do distinctly remember is our conversation regarding my feelings opinion and recommendations that [Applicant] qualified for a Purple Heart on the basis of the combat inflicted arm wounds." b. "After his 'denial' response, mentally what went through my mind was: 'Damn, you don’t have to be killed or maimed to qualify for a Purple Heart and that superficial stuff/injuries does qualify.' It didn't seem right to me, but I wasn't going to push the issue any further and contest [Applicant's] feelings." 5. The DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II) shows in: a. Item 5 (Oversea Service), credited service dates for deployment to Vietnam: * 29 June 1966 through 27 June 1967 * 6 January 1969 through 4 January 1970 b. Item 9 (Awards, Decorations and Campaigns), no award of the PH. 6. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the PH. 7. His Military Personnel Records Jacket does not contain medical records showing treatment for wounds or injuries sustained in combat. 8. His name is not listed on the Department of the Army Office of the Adjutant General Casualty Division Casualty Reference Name Listing for the period 1 January 1961 through 30 June 1973, a battle and non-battle listing of Soldiers who were killed, wounded, sick, captured, or missing during their service in Vietnam. 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, revealed no orders for the PH pertaining to him. 10. Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Awards), then in effect, provided that the PH 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 records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record. BOARD DISCUSSION: Per the regulatory guidance on awarding the Purple Heart, the applicant must provide or have in his service records substantiating evidence to verify that he was injured, 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. Although the applicant provides a statement from a medical professional stating he remembers treating the applicant, the detail provided by that medical professional, in the opinion of the Board, fails to provide adequate detail of the wound as outlined in the regulatory guidance above. Therefore, after reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found insufficient medical evidence to meet the regulatory standard for the Purple Heart and thus recommended denying the request. 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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, provided that the PH 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 records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record. For the purpose of considering an award of this decoration, a "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under enemy, opposing armed force, or hostile foreign action. A physical lesion is not required, provided the concussion or other form of injury is directly due to enemy, opposing armed force, or hostile foreign action. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160017570 4 1