BOARD DATE: 8 December 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090011594
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, in effect, that he believes his injury/wound occurred while serving with B Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, during Operation Lam Son, an offensive campaign that was conducted in Laos between January and May 1971.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), dated 23 June 1971, 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 applicants 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 applicants 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 24 September 1969. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 11C (Infantry Indirect Fire Crewman). He was honorably released from active duty in the rank of sergeant/E-5 on 23 June 1971 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) for completion of his military service obligations.
3. The applicants records show he served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 14 September 1970 to 22 June 1971. He was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion (Airmobile), 187th Infantry.
4. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicants DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Soldier's Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14), the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Pistol Bar (.45 caliber), and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Mortar Bar (81mm) and Rifle Bar (M-16). Item 24 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicants DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) contain no entry.
6. The applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam Casualty Roster. Additionally, there are no general orders in the applicant's records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
7. The applicant's available medical records do not show he sustained a combat injury/wound or that he was treated for any combat injuries/wounds. Additionally, his available medical records show he underwent a physical examination on
23 June 1971; however, his Report of Medical Examination does not indicate any combat wounds and/or treatment for such wounds.
8. During the processing of this case, a member of the Board's staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States 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. 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:
There is no evidence in the applicants available service personnel records which show he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds. Absent evidence which conclusively shows the applicant sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is no basis for awarding the Purple Heart to the applicant 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) AR20090011594
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