IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 JUNE 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090003952
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 correction of his records to show two awards of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that while serving at a forward base in Vietnam in June 1970 he was wounded in the forehead and that his left hand was injured when the convoy came under rocket attack on 21 November 1970. He further states that his captain told him that he would receive a Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides a picture of himself indicating a forehead injury incurred in June 1970 in support of this application.
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 he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 5 June 1969. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13A (field artillery basic). The applicant was promoted to pay grade E-4, which is the highest rank he held during his tenure of service.
3. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 11 December 1970 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation. He completed 1 year,
6 months, and 7 days of creditable active service.
4. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam during the period 7 November 1969 to 6 November 1970.
5. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 is blank.
6. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
7. There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was ever wounded or treated for wounds sustained as the result of hostile action.
8. The applicant's records do not contain any evidence that indicates he was ever recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart by proper authority while serving on active duty.
9. 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. It is noted that the applicant provided a picture of himself with an apparent forehead injury. However, there is no evidence in the applicant's service personnel records and he has provided no evidence which shows that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for such wounds, or was recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart. The applicant's name is also not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
2. In the absence of evidence that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for such wounds, there is insufficient evidence
upon which to base award of the Purple Heart. As a result, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been satisfied in this case. Therefore, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
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.
__________XXX_____________
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.
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