IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	9 October 2008  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080011395 


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 Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant states that he was an infantry point man on the front lines while in combat in Vietnam and his military occupational specialty (MOS) was 11B.  He also states that the Purple Heart was sent to him after his discharge.  He further states that he was also recommended for the Bronze Star Medal.

3.  In support of his application, the applicant provides copies of his Purple Heart certificate, his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), and his Honorable Discharge Certificate. 

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’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army, in pay grade E-1, on 14 April 1965, for 3 years.  He completed basic and advanced training and was awarded MOS 11B, Infantryman.  He served in that MOS with Headquarters Support Command and Company A, 1st Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry, in Vietnam, from 23 January 1966 to 18 November 1966.  

3.  The applicant was released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service, in pay grade E-4 (temporary), on 17 April 1968, and transferred to the United States Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement).  

4.  Entries on the applicant’s DD Form 214, Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) list the following awards:  the National Defense Service Medal; the Parachutist Badge; the Vietnam Service Medal; the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960); and one Overseas Service Bar.  The Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart are not listed.  

5.  There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records that show he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart.  There is also no evidence in his records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show any entry in item 40 (Wounds) or list the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations).  

6.  The applicant submits a copy of a Purple Heart certificate, dated 6 May 1968, showing the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 21 August 1966.  

7.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) records of the applicant's units for the timeframe the applicant served in Vietnam was conducted.  This review failed to show that any orders were published awarding the applicant the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart.  

8.  The Vietnam Casualty Roster does not show the applicant’s name and there are no medical treatment records available to show how or when he might have been wounded or injured.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers, and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS.  They must have served in active 

ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  The Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (formerly known as the Total Army Personnel Command) has advised, in similar cases, that during the Vietnam era the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against the enemy or 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.  The regulation governing award of the Combat Infantryman Badge specifically states that to be eligible for this badge a Soldier must be serving in an infantry MOS, in an infantry unit of regimental or smaller size, during such times as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat.  The Soldier must actually have been personally present and under hostile fire.  

2.  The applicant’s records shows he served in an infantry MOS and in an infantry unit in the Republic of Vietnam; however, the evidence of record does not confirm that he was personally present and participated in active ground combat operations while assigned or attached to an infantry unit.  His records do not show he received any awards for valor or achievement that would give an indication he was exposed to active ground combat against the enemy.

3.  A Soldier serving in an infantry unit and in an infantry position alone is insufficient to award the Combat Infantryman Badge.  In all cases, the burden of proof rests with applicants to submit substantiating proof of their entitlement for awards in the absence of evidence in their records.  The applicant did not provide any documentation and his records do not contain any evidence to support or clearly show that he was personally present and participated in active ground combat during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.  

4.  By regulation, to be awarded the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded or injured in action.  Careful consideration was given to the documentation submitted by the applicant.  There is no evidence of record, 
and the applicant has not provided sufficient evidence, which shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded, injured, or treated for wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action in the Republic of Vietnam.  

5.  Given the lack of any corroborating evidence of record or evidence to include orders from other independent sources, the documentation alone is not sufficient to meet the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in the Republic of Vietnam and entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

6.  The evidence of record contains no orders or record of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action and made a matter of official record at the time.  The evidence also does not show he was ever recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart by proper authority.  Further, the Purple Heart is not included in the list of authorized awards contained on his DD Form 214, dated 17 April 1968.  Therefore, absent corroborating evidence confirming the applicant's account of how he received his injury (eyewitness accounts, chain of command supporting letters, etc.), the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been satisfied in this case.

7.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  

8.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

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)                                         AR20080011395



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1


ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080011395


2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1