Dear  
 
This is in reference to your application of 26 January 2018 for correction of your naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found that the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 27 November 2019.  The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.  Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this Board.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application and personal statements, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your service records, and applicable statutes, regulations and policies. 
 
You were separated from the Marine Corps with an honorable characterization of service on 30 April 1983.  While you were serving in , you claim that you suffered a head concussion as a result of an enemy mortar that exploded close to you in early 1968. 
 
Between 2003 and 2014, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, and Navy Personnel Command collectively denied your entitlement to a Purple Heart Medal (PH) seven times.  Within the Department of the Navy, to qualify for the PH, the wound received has to be the direct or indirect result of enemy action, and such wound also required treatment by a medical officer at the time of injury.  Both criteria must be met to be awarded the PH. 
 
The Board, in its review of the entire record and petition, considered your contentions that included, but were not limited to:  that a mortar hit about 12-15 feet from you and blew you backwards into your bunker and you received a head concussion, that you were taken to an aid 
station and treated by a doctor, and that the law has changed that now allows for PH as a result of concussions.  However, the Board unanimously determined, even after reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to you, that you do not meet the qualifying criteria to receive the PH.  There was no evidence in the record that you were injured under conditions for which the PH can be authorized.   
 
Regarding your contention that the law has changed, change in the Department of the Navy regulations making certain concussions eligible for the PH does not apply in your case.  The Secretary of the Navy promulgated ALNAV 079/011 (“Department of the Navy Standards for Award of the Purple Heart”) on 9 December 2011.  The ALNAV defines a wound as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent, and further states that wounds/injuries are the direct result of enemy action when the physical effects of an enemy weapon on the service member are the immediate cause of the wound/injury (e.g. being struck by projectiles, fragmentation, or blast from an enemy weapon or IED).  The ALNAV further states that mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and concussion are frequently used interchangeably; MTBI is a medical term defining the physical injury to the brain from a blow or blast, and concussion is the layman term describing impairment to brain function resulting from the injury.  The ALNAV states that the revised PH standards were effective immediately and may be retroactively applied for certain instances of MTBI (concussion) suffered on or after September 11, 2001.  This “new law” clarifying PH eligibility for concussions only has retroactive applicability to the start of the Global War on Terror and is inapplicable in your case.  There have been absolutely no changes to PH eligibility involving concussions that applies prior to September 11, 2001 and during the Vietnam era.  Additionally, the USMC-modified PH guidance approved in April 2011 covering MTBI is similar to ALNAV 079/011 in that it does not apply prior to the start of the Global War on Terror.  Accordingly, your 1968 concussion does not meet the modified PH eligibility criteria. 
 
It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken.  You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon the submission of new matters, which will require you to complete and submit a new DD Form 149.  New matters are those not previously presented to or considered by the Board.  In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.  Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.