DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090016714
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 received a burn on the back of his head during Operation Desert Storm, but he did not receive the award of the Purple Heart for his injury. He offers that he is being treated for his wound by the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also states that there are records of his treatment at Darnall Hospital, Fort Hood, TX.
3. The applicant does not provide any additional information in support of his 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 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 that he enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on
28 November 1989. He was deployed to Southwest Asia from 12 October 1990 to 10 April 1991. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on
25 July 1991.
3. Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, Commendations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There is no documentation in the available records which shows the applicant sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.
5. There is no evidence or any general orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.
6. Information obtained from the Deputy Chief, Army Casualty and Mortuary Branch, Human Resources Command, Alexandria, VA, indicated that there was no casualty report recorded pertaining to the applicant.
7. 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:
There are no general orders available which awarded the applicant the Purple Heart. There are no medical records available which show the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Southwest Asia. Therefore, in the absence of medical records or any other corroborating evidence to support the applicant's contention, there is an insufficient basis for 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) AR20090016714
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090016714
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