IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 19 November 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090011373
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 that he was wounded in action while serving in the Republic of Vietnam.
3. The applicant indicated that he is providing a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), dated 14 December 1967; a statement from another individual; and a physical profile page. However, none of the stated documents was attached to 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 he was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 28 December 1965. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman). His records also show he was awarded MOS 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). He was honorably released from active duty in the rank/grade of corporal/E-4 on 14 December 1967 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) for completion of his Reserve obligation.
3. The applicant's records show he served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 1 January 1967 to on or about 10 February 1967. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry.
4. 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 National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. Item 24 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. Item 38 (Record of Assignment) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was transferred to the Medical Holding Detachment at the U.S. Army Hospital, Camp Zama, Japan, in a patient status on 20 February 1967. However, item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank.
6. The applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster.
7. There are no general orders in his records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
8. During the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973. This review failed to reveal any Purple Heart orders on file for the applicant.
9. The applicant's medical records are not available for review with this case. However, his service records contain a document in which he stated that he underwent a medical examination on 17 November 1967 and that there had been no change in his medical condition since his last examination which he took in conjunction with his appointment in the Regular Army.
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 an 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:
The applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster; his DA Form 20 does not indicate any combat wounds; his record is void of any orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart; and his available medical records do not indicate he was wounded and/or injured as a result of hostile action. Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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) AR20090011373
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090011373
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