RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 JUNE 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040007884


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert Fry                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his record be corrected to show award of
the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that while engaged in hostile action against enemy
forces for which he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V”
device, he received wounds and was awarded the Purple Heart.  The medal was
given to him by the senior advisor of Team 70, Military Assistance Command
Vietnam (MACV).  He was treated at the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi.
He received the medal, but not the order reflecting the award.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the general order awarding him the
Army Commendation Medal with “V” device, and a copy of his 31 August 1992
        DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 31 August 1992.  The application submitted in this case
is dated     30 August 2004.

2.  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 allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Army for 3 years on 2 September 1965 and
remained on continuous active duty until his retirement in 1992.  The
applicant’s personnel qualification record (DA Form 2-1) shows that he
served in Vietnam as a heavy weapons advisor with Advisory Team 70 from
April 1968 to June 1969.
He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V” device for his heroism
on 20 June 1968.

4.  The applicant’s medical records show:

      a.  He was hospitalized for 9 days because of acute bronchitis at the
   93rd Evacuation Hospital in Vietnam from 27 July 1968 to 5 August 1968.
      b.  He returned from Vietnam in October 1968 on leave and was
hospitalized at the Naval Hospital in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for
hepatitis from 7 October 1968 to 6 January 1969.


      c.  A 16 April 1970 report of medical examination failed to indicate
any injuries or wounds received as a result of hostile action.  In the
report of medical history that the applicant furnished for the examination
he did not indicate that he sustained any injuries or wounds from his
service in Vietnam.


      d.  The remaining medical records, which are extensive, contained no
evidence that the applicant had been wounded as a result of hostile action
in Vietnam.

5.  The applicant was discharged in Saigon, Vietnam on 1 September 1968 at
the end of his enlistment, and immediately reenlisted the following day.
His DD Form 214, which he signed attesting to its accuracy, did not show
award of the Purple Heart.

6.  His 7 July 1974 DD Form 214, again which he signed, does not show award
of the Purple Heart.

7.  The applicant was released from active duty on 31 August 1992 and
placed on the retired list the following day.  He had almost 27 years of
active service.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

8.  The Vietnam Casualty Roster maintained by this agency does not show
that the applicant was wounded in action.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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, and the medical treatment must have
been made a matter of official record.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence and the applicant has not provided any, to show
that he was wounded in action.  In the absence of such evidence there is no
basis for the Board to award the Purple Heart.

2.  Consequently, the applicant’s request to correct his record to show
award of the Purple Heart is not warranted.
3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 31 August 1992; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on         30 August 1995.  However, the applicant did
not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a
compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest
of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JS___  ___HF __  ___LS___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  _______John Slone_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040007884                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050614                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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