BOARD DATE: 4 May 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090019202
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 the following:
* he stepped into a bamboo pit sometime in December 1969
* the bamboo scraped his ankle and calf of his right leg
* one piece of the bamboo went into his toe and later his toe got infected
* doctor did surgery on his toe at a fire base in Vietnam
3. The applicant provides the following documents in support of his application:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* letter of support
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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 15 January 1969.
3. The applicant served in Vietnam from 21 August 1969 to 20 August 1970.
4. His service record does not show he was wounded in action in Vietnam.
5. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not list the Purple Heart in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
6. The applicant's personnel records do not contain orders which show he was awarded the Purple Heart. His DA Form 20 does not list any wounds as a result of hostile action in item 40 (Wounds). His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
7. The applicant was separated on 20 August 1970. His DD Form 214 does not show entitlement to the Purple Heart.
8. The applicant's service record does not contain any medical documents which show he was wounded as a result of hostile action.
9. The applicant provided a letter of support from a former fellow Soldier which stated the following:
* he served with the applicant in Vietnam
* the applicant stepped into a punji hole (trap)
* the manmade bamboo blade/spear went through the applicant's boot and cut his foot
* he was there and remembers the incident
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Paragraph 2-8b(2) states that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of
such enemy. The regulation states that the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contentions regarding his injury in Vietnam are acknowledged. However, the evidence of record does not show he sustained a wound as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
2. By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, that the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and the treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. In the absence of any other corroborating evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
4. The letter of support from the former fellow Soldier is acknowledged. However, this document alone is insufficient as a basis to grant 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) AR20090019202
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090019202
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