IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  24 February 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080018978 


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 the Purple Heart be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded while in combat in Vietnam but at the time he was to be presented with the medal he turned it down because he felt others were more deserving than he was to be awarded the medal.  The applicant concludes his request by stating that the evidence of his having sustained the wound should be contained in his service medical records.

3.  The applicant submitted no additional documents 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 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 records show that he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 23 January 1967.  He completed basic combat training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and his advanced individual training at Fort Polk, Louisiana.  After completing all required training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

3.  The applicant served in Vietnam with Company D, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment from 11 July 1967 through 6 July 1968.

4.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 22 January 1969 under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 at the expiration of his term of service.  He was released from active duty in the rank of sergeant (SGT), pay grade E-5.  On the date he was released from active duty he had served 2 years active military service with no time lost.

5.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars, the Bronze Star Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14 Rifle), the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  No entry appears in Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), to show that he received a wound in action against a hostile force while he served in Vietnam.

7.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.  The applicant's name also does not appear on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Casualty Information System which has the names of deceased, wounded, or ill or injured Army personnel, including dependents and civilian employees, recorded during the period from 1 January 1961 through December 1981.

8.  There is no entry in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) showing that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.

9.  A copy of a letter, Subject:  Transmittal of Health Record on Loan, prepared by Headquarters, III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, dated 22 January 1969, is on file in the applicant's service personnel record.  This letter states that the applicant's health records were forwarded to the Veterans Administration 
Regional Office (VARO), Buffalo, New York, on an indefinite loan basis.  The applicant's service medical records were not reviewed by the Board since they are not available in his service personnel records.

10.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Purple Heart, substantiating evidence must be presented to show that the applicant was wounded as 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.

2.  The applicant indicates in his request that he was to be presented the Purple Heart but he turned it down because he felt that others were more deserving than he was.  However, there is no annotation on his DD Form 214 or DA Form 20 that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action or awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.  The applicant's name also does not appear on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Casualty Information System which has the names of deceased, wounded, or ill or injured Army personnel.

4.  The applicant stated in his request that the evidence of his having sustained the wound should be contained in his service medical records; however, the applicant's service medical records were not available for the Board since they were loaned to the VARO, Buffalo, New York, on an indefinite basis, on 22 January 1969.

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)                                         AR20080018978



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080018978



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