IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  21 January 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080017032 


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 Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he received a gunshot wound to his right foot in the Republic of Vietnam while on duty August - September 1969.  He states he was sent to the hospital at Cam Ranh Bay, transferred to Japan, and ultimately sent to the Veterans Hospital at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

3.  The applicant provides, in support of his application, copies of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) with an effective date of 14 December 1970, a letter from the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), a personal statement, and a statement from his wife.

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 personnel record shows he initially enlisted in the Regular Army on 18 January 1968 for a period of 3 years.  He successfully completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded the military occupational specialty of 13A (Field Artillery Basic).

3.  The applicant was assigned to A Battery, 7th Battalion, 15th Artillery in the Republic of Vietnam during the period from 7 March 1969 to 10 September 1969.

4.  Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not contain any entries indicating that the applicant received any wounds as a result of hostile or enemy action.

5.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant's DA Form 20 does not show the award of the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of the applicant's DA Form 20 shows that on 10 September 1969 the applicant was assigned in a patient status to Camp Oji, Japan.  On 23 September 1969, he was assigned in a patient status to the U.S. Army Training Center, Infantry at Fort Polk.  On 11 December 1969, the applicant was enroute to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

7.  26th Casualty Staging Flight (PACAF) (Pacific Air Force) Special Order T-755, dated 14 September 1969 transferred the applicant on or about 15 September 1969 to the 7th Field Hospital [in Japan].

8.  U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Polk Special Orders Number 231, dated 9 December 1969, transferred the applicant to the 4th Battalion, 39th Field Artillery, at Fort Bragg with a reporting date of 11 January 1970.

9.  On 14 December 1970, the applicant was discharged for the good of the service.   He had completed 2 years, 5 months, and 3 days of active service that was characterized as under honorable conditions.  He had 206 days time lost.

10.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 does not contain an entry for the Purple Heart.

11.  There are no orders in the applicant's military service record awarding him the Purple Heart.



12.  Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

13.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Listing.

14.  The applicant's service medical records were not available for review.

15.  The applicant submitted a letter, dated 11 December 2007, from a National Service Officer (NSO) from the MOPH.  The NSO stated the applicant was a Vietnam veteran who served with the 714th Artillery, 4th Army based in Bon Son, Vietnam.  The NSO stated the applicant "was wounded in the right foot by a round from an AK-47, which the bullet entered the top of his foot and exited the bottom, through and through wound."  The NSO also stated the applicant was evacuated to Cam Ranh Bay Field Hospital and then on to Japan for further treatment.

16.  In an undated self-authored statement the applicant stated he was wounded and sent home and forgotten about.  He goes on to describe his life after leaving the Army.

17.  In an undated statement from the applicant's wife, she describes the applicant's struggles since returning home and his treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

18.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.  A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained as a result of hostile action.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart based on a gunshot wound to his right foot in the Republic of Vietnam.  He contends he was sent to the hospital at Cam Ranh Bay, transferred to Japan, and ultimately to a Veterans Hospital at Fort Polk. 

2.  There is no evidence in the applicant's military personnel record that shows he was assigned to the unit mentioned by the NSO in the letter from the MOPH during his period of service.  The description of the applicant's wound provided by the NSO is determined to be based on a history provided by the applicant.  There is no evidence or official documentation to corroborate this statement.

3.  Although it is not clear exactly which hospitals the applicant was in, except the U.S. Army Hospital at Fort Polk, there is sufficient evidence to show the applicant was in a patient status during the period from 10 September to 9 December 1969.  However, there is no evidence or official documentation to show why he was hospitalized.  

4.  The applicant's DA Form 20 does not show he was wounded by hostile or enemy action.  His name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Listing.  

5.  The applicant's service medical records were not available for review.  Therefore, there is no substantiating evidence to verify that the applicant suffered an injury as a result of hostile action, the injury required medical treatment by medical personnel, or that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

6.  In the absence of military records which show that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds resulting from hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart 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.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy that 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)                                         AR20080017032



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080017032



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