IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 April 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090017612
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 he received a shrapnel head injury in Vietnam. He was treated at his firebase in Cu Chi, Republic of Vietnam, but he was not medically evacuated.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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 served in the Army of the United States from 8 April 1968 to 7 April 1970. He served in Vietnam from 6 September 1968 to 30 August 1969 as an infantryman with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division.
3. There are no orders in the applicant's record awarding him the Purple Heart. During the processing of this case, a member for the Board staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command (HRC), which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973. This review failed to reveal any orders for award of the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
4. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
5. There are limited medical records in the applicant's file. The applicant's separation physical examination contains a Standard Form (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination) completed by a doctor. It shows a normal examination of the head, face, neck, and scalp.
6. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) contains no entry in Item 40 (Wounds). Furthermore, the Purple Heart is not listed as an authorized award in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
7. The applicant's separation physical examination contains an SF 89 (Report of Medical History) completed by the applicant. He reported no history of head injury in Item 20 (Have you ever had or have you now). But in Item 33 he reported he "was hit on head by a piece of metal - RVN Cu Chi Sept 68."
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart (PH) 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 required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.
2. There is no evidence available to support the applicant's request:
* there are no medical records to show he sustained a wound as a result of hostile action
* his DA Form 20 does not show an entry in Item 40
* his name is not on the Vietnam Casualty Roster
3. A separation physical failed to note a head wound and the applicant, on his SF 89, said "was hit on head by a piece of metal" instead of saying he received a shrapnel wound to his head.
4. To receive the Purple Heart, the regulation requires evidence to verify that:
* the wound was the result of hostile action
* the wound required treatment by medical personnel
* the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
None of these things were accomplished in the applicant's 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.
___________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) AR20090017612
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090017612
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