IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 20 July 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100007214
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 promised the Purple Heart while at Camp Zama Army Hospital in Japan recovering from a gunshot wound he received in combat in Vietnam. He was told the hospital did not have any medals at the time and it did not get awarded before he was released.
3. The applicant provides no documentation in support of his request.
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 19 September 1967. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 13B (Field Artillery Crewman). He was honorably released from active duty in the rank of sergeant/E-5 on 6 July 1969 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement) for completion of his Reserve obligation.
3. The record shows the applicant served in the Republic of Vietnam with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 92d Artillery, from on or about 12 September 1968 to on or about 4 July 1969.
4. The applicant's military personnel records jacket does not contain his complete service medical records.
5. A Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History) completed at the time of the applicant's release from active duty indicates he underwent an operation to repair a hernia at Camp Zama Army Hospital in Japan. This document does not show he sustained or was treated for a gunshot wound.
6. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of this form does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
7. The applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster.
8. There are no general orders in the applicant's records showing he was awarded the Purple Heart.
9. During the processing of this case, a member of the Board's staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973. This review failed to reveal any Purple Heart orders on file for the applicant.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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.
11. U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) stated the authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders. It directed that all personnel treated and released within 24 hours would be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to which the individual was assigned. Personnel requiring hospitalization in excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam would be awarded the Purple Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. There is no evidence in the applicant's record indicating that he required medical treatment for a gunshot wound received as a result of hostile action during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
3. In the absence of military records showing the applicant was wounded or treated for a wound resulting from hostile action and that medical treatment for a wound was made a matter of official record, there is no 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) AR20100007214
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100007214
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