IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 18 March 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090017062
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 in November 1969 while in Vietnam his tank hit a land mine which resulted in partial hearing loss in his left ear and leg problems. He contends that he is receiving 70 percent disability from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for partial hearing loss.
3. The applicant provides emails from two fellow Soldiers and an excerpt on the history of Troop A, 4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry 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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 22 January 1969. He served as a light weapons infantryman assigned to Troop A,
4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry in Vietnam from 22 June 1969 to 21 June 1970. On
22 January 1971, he was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation.
3. The applicants DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
5. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 40 (Wounds) on his DA Form 20 is blank. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
6. 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 pertaining to the applicant.
7. In support of his claim, the applicant provided an excerpt on the history of Troop A, 4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry which states, in pertinent part, that on
25 November 1969 while conducting reconnaissance on the north bank of Cua Viet River a tank from Troop A, 4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry detonated a mine, the tank was a combat loss, and one Soldier was wounded. However, there is no evidence of record which shows the wounded Soldier was the applicant.
8. The applicant also provided emails from two fellow Soldiers at the time in question. One Soldier, a gunner on the applicant's tank at the time in question, attests that in November 1969 the applicant was riding on the loaders hatch when their tank hit a large mine and the applicant was thrown up into the air and landed on the 90mm main gun tube. One email states the applicant injured his leg.
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:
There is no evidence of record which shows that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action in Republic of Vietnam. In the absence of orders or other corroborating evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in the Republic of Vietnam, the documentation and the emails provided by the applicant are 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.
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) AR20090017062
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090017062
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