RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2007-00411
            INDEX CODE:  107.00
            COUNSEL:  None
            HEARING DESIRED:  YES


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: Aug 12, 2008
_________________________________________________________________


APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be awarded the Purple  Heart  (PH)  Medal  for  two  wounds  received  in
Vietnam in Oct 63 and Nov 63.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He received a PH citation in the spring of 1964 but the  orders  were  never
located.

The Director of Personnel at Nahn Air  Base,  Okinawa,  sent  at  least  two
letters trying to locate the orders but they were never located.

He should have received  promotion  points  for  the  PH  citation  and  his
additional voluntary duties but did not due to the lost orders.

Every time a copy of  the  citation  was  reproduced  and  placed  into  his
personnel records, maintenance personnel would throw it away.  The  Director
of Personnel had the PH citation placed into his records again  but  it  was
removed and he was asked for a source document (orders)  which  he  did  not
have.  He could not reveal how he had  received  it  (sic)  because  he  had
signed a debriefing statement agreeing not to discuss any additional  duties
with Detachment 1, 23rd Air Base Group.

He has received a 70 percent Veterans Administration (VA) disability  rating
for hand and leg injuries.

In support of his request, the applicant has submitted  a  copy  of  his  DD
Form 214, Certificate or Release or Discharge from Active  Duty,  separation
orders,  an  extract  from  his  military  records,   statements,   and   VA
correspondence.



The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 30 Nov 82, the applicant was relieved from active  duty  and  retired  in
the grade of chief master sergeant effective 1 Dec 82.   The  applicant  was
credited with 22 years and 24 days of active service for retirement.

His service record indicates he served in Okinawa from 5 Feb 63  to  12  Nov
64 and in Vietnam from 13 Jun 67 to 6 Jan 68.  His combat  history  reflects
Vietnam Advisory Campaign from 1 Sep 63   to  29  Jan  64  and  Vietnam  Air
Offensive Campaign, Phase II from   3 Jun 67 to 8 Jan 68.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPR recommends  the  application  be  denied.   DPPPR  states  the
Purple Heart Review Board denied the applicant’s request on 19 Aug 05.   The
PH citation provided by the applicant cannot be confirmed because the PH  is
the only decoration that does not have an official citation associated  with
its approval.  The applicant’s DD 214, Block 27 states there were no  wounds
received as a result of action with enemy  forces.   There  are  conflicting
stories of the incident in the applicant’s request.   The  applicant  should
contact the Army and request verification of his special order awarding  him
the PH on 17 Oct 63.

A complete copy of the AFPC/DPPPR opinion is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant stated he received an additional wound on  7  Nov  63  in  the
shin of his right leg while at the Vietnamese Popular Training Camp and  was
treated by Army medics at Qui Nhon Air Base.  This documentation was  placed
into his  personnel  and  medical  records;  however,  they  later  came  up
missing.  It wasn’t until his retirement physical  that  he  discovered  all
his medical documents since enlisting in 1977 were lost.

The documentation he has provided clearly shows his injuries were  a  direct
result of enemy action.

The applicant states he did not know the citation existed until May 64.   Lt
Col J received the citation along with other documents on  12  Mar  64  from
the Detachment 1, 23rd Air Base Group Commander with a letter dated  22  Feb
64.  The letter dated 22 Feb 64 also states that  DaNang  had  someone  send
them a folder (decoration folder) to put his documents in but  he  does  not
know what unit sent the folder to Detachment 1.

To the best of his knowledge, he does not recall  submitting  a  request  to
the PH Review Board.  Further, he does  not  know  how  they  could  make  a
decision when they did not have all the  records  and  he  does  not  recall
receiving a letter from them requesting additional  documentation.   Neither
does  he  recall  receiving  a   congressional   inquiry   requesting   more
information. He is aware  of  Congresswoman  Brown-Waite  assisting  him  in
obtaining his PH through the Army. He has contacted the Army  and  has  been
told they do not have authority to issue retroactive  awards  to  Air  Force
personnel.

He has no idea why the Air Force is saying there are conflicting stories  in
his application.  The exceptions may be the error in  the  year  he  retired
and the year the error was discovered. The individuals who wrote  statements
for his application did not have first-hand  knowledge  but  all  three  had
seen the medical documentation which supports his claim to the PH.

The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant’s
contention that he  should  be  awarded  the  Purple  Heart  for  an  injury
sustained during his assignment in Vietnam.  After a thorough review of  his
submission  and  the  supporting  documentation  he  provided,  to   include
excerpts from his medical records, these documents do not persuade  us  that
he should be awarded the Purple Heart Medal.  There is no evidence that  the
wound he alleges he sustained was a  direct  result  of  enemy  action.   In
addition, the applicant did not provide  any  current  medical  evidence  of
scarring or other residuals of the asserted injury that lead us  to  believe
that he had an injury that warranted the award of the  Purple  Heart  Medal.
However, should the applicant provide the  above  information  or  testimony
from other former members of his unit who were with him  at  that  time  and
can account for his injury, he may, of course, submit  another  request  and
the Board will review this new evidence. While we appreciate and  honor  the
applicant’s service to his country, in view of  the  above  the  applicant’s
request is not favorably considered.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINED THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of probable material error or injustice; that the  application
was denied without a personal appearance;  and  that  the  application  will
only  be  considered  upon  the  submission  of  newly  discovered  relevant
evidence not considered with this application.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2007-00411
in Executive Session on 17 April 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
                 Ms. Rita J. Maldonado, Member
                 Mr. Garry G. Sauner, Member


The following documentary evidence  pertaining  to  Docket  Number  BC-2007-
00411 was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 5 Feb 07.
      Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C.  Memo, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 21 Feb 07.
      Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 Mar 07.
      Exhibit E.  Applicant’s Response, dated 29 Mar 07.



                                             RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                             Panel Chair