IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 17 March 2011 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100022255 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, in effect, award of the Purple Heart (PH). 2. The applicant states he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Gallantry Cross with Silver Star for maintaining his position while wounded on 5 February 1967, but the Army neglected to give him the PH. 3. The applicant provides Armed Forces of the RVN orders awarding him the RVN Gallantry Cross with Silver Star and a certificate for the award. 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 on 29 September 1965. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 13A (Field Artillery Basic). He was honorably released from active duty on 4 July 1967. 3. The record shows he served in the RVN with Battery A, 3d Battalion, 82d Artillery, 196th Infantry Brigade, from 15 July 1966 to 18 June 1967. 4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of this form does not show he was awarded the PH. 5. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show he was awarded the PH. 6. A Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) and a Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History) completed at the time of his release from active duty do not show he was wounded as a result of enemy action. 7. His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster. 8. His records do not include general orders showing he was awarded the PH. 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 Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders awarding the PH to him. 10. The Armed Forces of the RVN orders he provides contain the following citation: Courageous artillery man, 3d Bn, 82d Arty. During operation GADSDEN in Vietnam on 5 February 1967, though wounded, Private [applicant] still clung to position to fight to the last minute, contributed greatly to the successes of his unit. 11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request for award of the PH. 2. Although a citation in Armed Forces of the RVN orders indicates he was wounded, his records do not substantiate the information in the citation. He was assigned to a U.S. Army artillery battery at the time, indicating there would have been an opportunity for U.S. Army medical personnel to treat any wound he received and document the wound and treatment in his record. Unfortunately, the record does not show the cause, type, or severity of his wound, making it impossible to determine if it met the criteria for the PH. 3. In the absence of documentation verifying he was wounded as the result of hostile action, that the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record, there is no basis for award of the PH. 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 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) AR20100022255 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100022255 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1