IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 29 April 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090020178
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 was wounded in the right calf by enemy shrapnel while attached to the 121st Signal Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division near Lai Khe in Vietnam. He adds that he was sent to the 3rd Army Brigade Hospital where he received 8 to 10 stitches in his right calf.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty).
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. Records show the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 January 1968. He served in Vietnam from 28 June 1969 to 17 May 1970. He was honorably discharged on 7 May 1976.
3. Item 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows no entries for any wounds received.
5. 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.
6. There is no evidence of any general orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart and his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
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 a medical officer, 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 Vietnam. In the absence of such evidence, there is an insufficient basis for award of the Purple Heart.
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) AR20090020178
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090020178
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090012722
Additionally, there are no general orders in the applicant's records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence in the applicants available service personnel records which shows 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...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100025817
In support of his claim for the Purple Heart, he provided service medical records which show he was treated for a right leg wound. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Although the service medical records provided by the applicant state "old shrapnel wound" to right calf, there is insufficient evidence to show he was injured as a result of enemy action.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140017652
Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). The applicant requests correction of his records to show award of the Purple Heart. A review of the applicant's military personnel records failed to reveal any evidence that shows he was wounded in action or awarded the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100010817
His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster, his DA Form 20 does not document any combat wounds, and there is no other evidence in his service records that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds. Regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows that 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...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120017072
The applicant states he has new evidence that will show he was treated for wounds from enemy shrapnel. He is providing a statement from the combat medic who treated his wounds. There also is no evidence in his service personnel records that shows that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090014361
The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart for wounds he received in the Republic of Vietnam. There are no orders in the applicant's military service records awarding him the Purple Heart. In the absence of military records which show that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds resulting from hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110024600
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 7 June 2012 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110024600 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20070011559 on 20 December 2007. Therefore, he should be awarded the Purple Heart for wound received in action in Vietnam on 14 January 1970 and his DD Form 214 should...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080017035
There is no evidence in the available records which show the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in the Republic of Vietnam. Without corroborating evidence such as orders or other evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for any wounds as a result of hostile action in the Republic of Vietnam, the statement from the Veterans Appeals Board provided by the applicant is not sufficient as a basis for an award of the Purple Heart. ...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110013491
Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). The applicant provides: * A map of Vietnam * DD Forms 214 for the periods ending 4 July 1964 and 26 March 1970 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The Purple Heart requires: * a wound was the result of hostile action * treatment of the wound by military medical personnel * documentation of the wound in official records * official orders awarding the decoration 3.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130011222
Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Although the applicant may have received a laceration to his left leg while he was serving in Vietnam, the evidence of record does not show and he has not provided any evidence that shows this wound was incurred as a result of hostile action. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster, his DA Form 20 does not indicate he...