IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 16 December 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080009738
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, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was in a firefight on Hill 875 in late November 1967 and that he was wounded on his left leg above the knee with shrapnel.
3. The applicant provides a copy of a letter from a combat medic in support of his request.
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 applicants 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 applicants failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.
2. The applicant's record shows he was inducted on 2 November 1966. He was trained as a Light Weapons Infantryman in military occupational specialty (MOS), 11B.
3. The applicant served in Vietnam from 25 November 1967 to 24 October 1968. He was promoted to pay grade E-4 on 10 April 1968. He served until he was honorably released from active duty on 18 October 1968.
4. The applicants DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14), the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and one Overseas Service Bar. His DD Form 214 does not show any additional awards.
5. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show an entry in item 40 (Wounds) and the Purple Heart is not shown as an authorized award in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
6. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster for a wound received as a result of hostile action.
7. The ADCARS (Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System) failed to show that orders were published awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.
8. The applicant provided a copy of a letter from a combat medic who served with Company D, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. He stated that as a medic in the Republic of Vietnam, he remembered the applicant being wounded by shrapnel. He cleaned and bandaged the applicant's wound as best as he could. He was sent out to a medical unit. He was always afraid of infection caused by the jungle and the filth around them. The medic concluded that this was his account of what happened to the applicant at the time in Vietnam.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 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:
1. To be awarded the Purple Heart, substantiating evidence must be presented to show that the Soldier was wounded as a 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.
2. The applicant is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty List and there are no medical records available to show that he was treated for a wound as a result of hostile action.
3. The applicant claims that he was in a firefight on Hill 875 in late November 1967 and was wounded on his left leg above the knee with shrapnel.
4. The applicant provided a statement from a combat medic, who was serving in Vietnam, with Company D, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, who alleges he remembered the applicant being wounded by shrapnel. The combat medic continued to elaborate on the events that occurred after the wound. However, the combat medic, nor the applicant, provided evidence to show that this medical treatment was made a matter of official record. This uncorroborated evidence alone does not support award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.
5. In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show, to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.
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) AR20080009738
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080009738
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130013421
His medical record is not available for review. In his statement, Mr. Cxxxxx states the following: As a combat medic of Company D 4th Division 1st of the 12th from 1967-1968 in the Republic of Vietnam, I remember Sergeant Hxxx Lxxxxxxx being wounded going up Hill 875. The applicant contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart; however, neither his available record nor the Vietnam casualty roster provide any evidence that shows he was wounded during his period of service in the Republic...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080014023
The applicant requests, in effect, award of the Purple Heart. There are no orders in the applicant's military personnel records awarding him the Purple Heart. However, by regulation, in order to support award of the Purple Heart, there must be evidence confirming that the wound for which the award is being made was received as a direct result of or was caused by enemy action, that the wound was treated by medical personnel, and a record of this treatment must have been made a matter of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090000009
The applicant requests correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart. There is no evidence in the available records which shows that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. 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 radiology report provided by the applicant is not...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100000408
Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20070004413 on 6 September 2007. He submitted the following documents: a. a statement by his former unit's medical corpsman, SP4 B____ who served as a combat medic with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, and received the Silver Star on 17 April 1968 and two awards of the Bronze...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140006567
Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). The applicant requests correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart (2nd Award) and the Bronze Star Medal. Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, General Orders Number 2275, dated 30 May 1968, awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action on 30 March 1968.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2004 | 20040001817C070208
The applicant states that he had a shrapnel wound in Vietnam. In so doing, the VA noted that although his service medical records showed no evidence of a shrapnel wound, reasonable doubt was resolved in his favor that this [his wound] was a residual from a combat injury. The VA, in awarding the applicant a service connected disability for residuals [shrapnel] in his right arm, stated that his service medical records showed no evidence of a shrapnel wound, and despite this lack of evidence...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090012068
Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20080009738, on 16 December 2008. The applicant provided a copy of a letter from a combat medic who stated that as a medic in the Republic of Vietnam, he remembered the applicant being wounded by shrapnel. In the absence of medical records that show the applicant was treated for...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090016806
He states that he needs his Purple Heart orders. There is no evidence in the available records which show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. There is no evidence of record which shows that the applicant was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120007785
He submits an Army buddy statement, dated 26 September 2011, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question who attests: * He served with the applicant in Vietnam from February 1968 to February 1969 * They were in the same company and platoon for the entire year * He (fellow Soldier) received the CIB * Their company performed numerous combat assaults in Vietnam * The applicant spent well over 300 days in the field/jungle during their tour * The applicant earned the CIB within the first 4 days...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2015 | 20150001047
The applicant requests correction of his military service records to show he sustained an injury on 25 October 1967 and was awarded the Purple Heart. A review of the applicant's military personnel records failed to reveal any orders or other evidence that shows he was awarded a second award of the Purple Heart. The applicant's request for correction of his military service records to show he sustained wounds/injuries on 25 October 1967 and was awarded a second award of the Purple Heart was...