IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 19 May 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090002850 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 award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states that while on a survey mission with the 8th Battalion, 26th Artillery he was wounded by shrapnel in the right arm in early 1968. 3. The applicant provides a statement from a fellow Soldier and a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) in support of his application. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 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 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active service on 20 March 1968. He served as an artillery surveyor in Vietnam from 12 August 1968 through 11 August 1969. He was honorably released from active duty on 14 January 1970 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation. 3. The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 4. There is no evidence in the available records which show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. 5. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 40 (Wounds) on his DA Form 20 is blank. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster. 6. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant. 7. In support of his claim, the applicant provided a notarized statement, dated 8 January 2008, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question. He attests that he served with the applicant in the 8th Battalion, 26th Artillery in Vietnam from April 1968 to April 1969 and that the applicant was in fact injured in a combat-related mission. He also states that the applicant was an outstanding Soldier and his honesty and integrity were without question. 8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that 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. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. In the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Vietnam, the statement provided by the applicant, in and of itself, is not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ 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 that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. __________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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090002850 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090002850 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1