BOARD DATE: 8 July 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090021322
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 on the evening of 4 or 5 November 1969, while a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, he received a shrapnel wound in his left thigh. He adds that he was service connected for this wound by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) and VA's Hearing Officer's Decision.
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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 February 1968. He served in Vietnam from December 1968 to February 1970. He was honorably released from active duty on 6 February 1970.
3. Item 24 (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. The applicant provided his Hearing Officer's Decision, dated 20 May 1996, that shows the VA granted him service connection for residuals, shell fragment wound of the left thigh. During a personal hearing, the applicant submitted a letter from his commanding officer in Vietnam, dated 15 April 1996. The officer said the applicant received a shrapnel wound to the left thigh during an enemy mortar attack. He offered that the wounding occurred approximately 7 to 10 days prior to a major assault by the North Vietnamese Army in November 1969. He recalled the applicant was hit by a large fragment that knocked him down, but only lacerated, burned, and bruised his leg. He added that the company medic cleaned and bandaged the applicant's wound and he [applicant] immediately returned to duty.
5. The available records contain no documentation which shows the applicant sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.
6. The records contain no evidence or 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:
1. The fact that the applicant provided documentation from VA granting him service connection for residuals, shell fragment wound of the left thigh is not sufficient evidence to conclude that he is entitled to the award of the Purple Heart. The VA based their decision on a supporting statement from the applicant's commanding officer which was submitted over 26 years after the alleged wounding, recalling that the applicant was wounded during an enemy mortar attack in November 1969. The supporting letter does not provide evidence sufficiently compelling to overcome the absence of medical documentation.
2. There is no medical evidence available that shows the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam. Additionally, the applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster. Regrettably, in the absence of such evidence there is no basis for granting the applicants request for award of 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) AR20090021322
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090021322
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140017773
Personnel wounded as a result of non-hostile action who are not placed on hospital's very seriously injured lists are not reported as casualties in accordance with current regulations. 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. There is no available evidence and he did not provide sufficient evidence...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080001908
There is no evidence of record which shows that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Therefore, his record should be corrected to show this award. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding him the first award of the Good Conduct Medal for the period 26 September 1967 through 23 August 1969; and b. amending his DD Form 214 to add the Good Conduct Medal, the Presidential...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080011917
However, there is no evidence of record which verifies his injuries were a result of hostile action in Vietnam. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in July 1969 and showing this award on his DD Form 214. ______________________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110014610
The applicant states: * he served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 3 April 1969 through 2 April 1971 * on 2 February 1970, he incurred and was later diagnosed with residual shell fragment wound, left leg, left foot, left side, and right thigh * his wounds were the result of a fragmentation hand grenade exploding also injuring another Soldier * he received medical treatment at the local medical hospital and he was presented the Purple Heart by a captain assigned to the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130017793
He served in Vietnam from 8 June 1969 to 11 January 1970. There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for those wounds/injuries, and his treatment was made a matter of record, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080014565
The applicant states that he was wounded in his right thigh by shrapnel during a rocket attack on 27 February 1969 in the Republic of Vietnam; however, his injury was not entered into his medical records. In his statement, dated 17 January 2008, a retired Lieutenant General (LTG) states that he served at Da Nang during the same time frame and that he learned that the applicant was wounded during a rocket attack but was not awarded the Purple Heart. There are no general orders that show he...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090003778
The rating decision states the applicant had been treated for a wound he sustained to his left knee in February 1969. The applicant was wounded a second time in the left knee, in February 1969. While the evidence shows he received treatment by medical personnel for a wound that he sustained to his left knee, there is no evidence that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080000406
On 3 September 1967, the applicant returned to dispensary and his sutures were removed. This regulation also provides that there are no time limitations for requests for award of the Purple Heart. Although the record does show that the applicant was injured while he was in Vietnam, there is no evidence in the available record, nor has the applicant submitted any evidence to show that any of his injuries were the result of hostile action by enemy forces.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080008650
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080008650 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces), of the applicants DD Form 214, shows he received a gunshot wound to the left leg in Wonju, Korea, on 12 February 1951. He stated that his disabilities were the result of wounds received while in combat with the enemy in Korea.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2003 | 03099031C070212
In that claim he states that he had sustained a shrapnel wound to his left shoulder in March 1969 and received medical treatment at a medical evacuation center. Such documentation could serve as a basis to grant the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart. Therefore, the Board requests that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual concerned to show two awards of the Air Medal, a “V” device on his Army Commendation Medal, four bronze service stars...