DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090002220 


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, award of the Purple Heart and a second award of the Air Medal (correctly known as the Air Medal with Numeral 2).  He also requests the issuance of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.
 
2.  The applicant states that he was wounded in combat (shrapnel in his left leg) in Vietnam on 18 November 1971, that a medic removed the shrapnel and stitched his wound, and that he never received the Purple Heart.  He claims that he only received one award of the Air Medal and should have received two awards for 52 combat missions.  He also contends that he never physically received the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge); a letter, dated 22 January 2009, from a Member of Congress; and an eyewitness statement in support of his claim. 

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 was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active service on 21 July 1970.  He served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 3 January 1971 to 15 December 1971.  He was honorably released from active duty on 15 December 1971 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation.

3.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device, and the Air Medal as authorized awards.
    
4.  There is no evidence in the available records which show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.

5.  Item 40 (Wounds) on the applicant's DA Form 20 is blank.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

6.  The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show entitlement to the Purple Heart or a second award of the Air Medal.

7.  There are no orders for a second award of the Air Medal in the available records.  

8.  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 for the Purple Heart or a second award of the Air Medal.

9.  In support of his claim for award of the Purple Heart, the applicant provided an eyewitness statement from a platoon medic at the time in question.  He attests that the applicant suffered shrapnel wounds on 18 November 1971, that he removed shrapnel from the applicant's lower leg, and that he treated and bandaged the wound.  He also states that the applicant remained in the field, that he refused evacuation, and that his wound required several follow-up treatments in the field. 

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.  

11.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided, in pertinent part, guidelines for award of the Air Medal.  It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations.  It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours.  Twenty-five category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) and accrual of a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in category I missions was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal.  However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point.

12.  Combat missions were divided into three categories.  A category I mission was defined as a mission performed in an assault role in which a hostile force was engaged and was characterized by delivery of ordnance against the hostile force, or delivery of friendly troops or supplies into the immediate combat operations area.  A category II mission was characterized by support rendered a friendly force immediately before, during or immediately following a combat operation.  A category III mission was characterized by support of friendly forces not connected with an immediate combat operation but which must have been accomplished at altitudes which made the aircraft at times vulnerable to small arms fire, or under hazardous weather or terrain conditions.

13.  To be recommended for award of the Air Medal, an individual must have completed a minimum of 25 category I missions, 50 category II missions, or 100 category III missions.  Since various types of missions would have been completed in accumulating flight time toward award of an Air Medal for sustained operations, different computations would have had to be made to combine category I, II, and III flight time and adjust it to a common denominator.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that Arabic numerals are now used instead of oak leaf clusters for the second and succeeding awards of the Air Medal.  The numeral 2 denotes the second award of the Air Medal.

15.  Title 10 of the U.S. Code, section 1130 (10 USC 1130), provides the legal authority for consideration of proposals for decorations not previously submitted in a timely fashion.  It allows, in effect, that upon the request of a Member of Congress, the Secretary concerned shall review a proposal for the award or presentation of a decoration (or the upgrading of a decoration), either for an individual or a unit, that is not otherwise authorized to be presented or awarded due to limitations established by law or policy for timely submission of a recommendation for such award or presentation.  Based upon such review, the Secretary shall make a determination as to the merits of approving the award or presentation of the decoration.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.  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 eyewitness statement provided by the applicant, in and of itself, is not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was awarded a second award of the Air Medal.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to base a second award of the Air Medal in this case.
 
3.  While the available evidence is insufficient for awarding the applicant a second award of the Air Medal, this in no way affects the applicant’s right to pursue his claim for a second award of the Air Medal by submitting a request through his Member of Congress under the provisions of 10 USC 1130.

4.  The Army Board for Correction of Military Records does not issue medals.  The applicant may receive the awards shown on his DD Form 214 by submitting a request via a letter or the Standard Form (SF) 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) to the following address: National Personnel Records Center, ATTN:  Army Reference Branch, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100.  Requests must include a copy of the DD Form 214 and any other supporting documentation to substantiate the request.  The SF 180 can be found at http://www.archives.gov.






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)                                         AR20090002220





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