IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  2 September 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100008274 


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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he received a slight head wound on 25 April 1968 while three Soldiers died and over twenty were wounded, so he continued with his job. He explains he received orders for a Silver Star and he was unaware of any action taken to award him the Purple Heart.  However, after his return from Vietnam, his mother informed him that she had received some of his awards.  The applicant states his mother passed away in 2009 and while going through her belongings, he found the award of the Purple Heart Certificate.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his Purple Heart Certificate and General Orders 4832 published on 19 May 1969 for award of the Silver Star.

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's military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 24 August 1961 for a period of 3 years.  He was honorably discharged on
28 August 1964 by reason of expiration of term of service (ETS).  He reentered the RA on 5 April 1967 and through a series of reenlistments, he was honorably retired on 30 September 1985 by reason of length of service for retirement.

3.  The applicant's records show he served in the Republic of Vietnam from 
4 December 1967 to 6 April 1971.

4.  Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 30 September 1985 shows the:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Bronze Star Medal (8 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC)) and with "V" Device
* Army Commendation Medal with "V" Device,
* Silver Star (1 OLC)
* Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation
* Army Service Ribbon
* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16)
* Parachute Badge
* Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star
* Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Silver Star
* 6 Overseas Service Bars
* Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal Second Class
* Meritorious Service Medal
* Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 1
* Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC)
* Noncommissioned Officer Professional Ribbon with Numeral 2
* Army Good Conduct Medal (7th Award)

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.  The applicant's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) does not contain any general orders awarding him the Purple Heart.  The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

6.  The applicant provided a copy of General Orders Number 4832, issued by Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division, dated 19 May 1969, that shows he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on 25 April 1968.  The award citation reads as follows:

For gallantry in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 25 April 1968.  [Applicant] distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman in the Reconnaissance Platoon of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, during a reconnaissance patrol south of Phouc Vinh, Republic of Vietnam.  At approximately 1330 hours on the cited date [applicant] found a well-used trail running in an easterly direction.  The trail showed signs of recent use, so he alerted his squad leader, and as they moved cautiously down the trail three Viet Cong were spotted.  The squad leader ordered his squad off the trail at a ninety degree angle while he and [applicant] moved forward to observe the enemy.  As the squad moved into fighting positions, one of the insurgents began to fire on the lead man.  As the squad engaged the Viet Cong, the enemy initiated heavy fire from concealed bunkers, using automatic weapons, heavy machine guns, and rocket propelled grenades.  The Viet Cong alternately utilized secondary firing positions linked by tunnels, and continued to use them throughout the engagement.  Realizing that he had to gain entrance to the inside of the bunker complex, [applicant] moved through the intense enemy fire, ran into the bunkers with hand grenades, and destroyed three bunkers.  He then returned to his squad and assisted in directing heavy artillery fire on the bunker complex.  The action lasted the entire afternoon and late into the night as artillery and air strikes continued to destroy enemy bunkers. The following day, a sweep of the area indicated that he had destroyed the command bunker which contained controls for detonating a number of high explosive land mines that were found throughout the positions of the reconnaissance Platoon.  [Applicant] personal bravery and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest tradition of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

7.  The applicant provided a copy of his Purple Heart Certificate, dated 1 July 1969, for wounds received on 25 April 1968.  This certificate is authenticated by John M. Wright Jr., Major General, 101st Airborne Division and signed by Stanley R. Resor, Secretary of the Army, at that time.

8.  A review of the internet shows that John M. Wright, Jr. was promoted to major general and in1969, he returned to Vietnam to command the 101st Airborne Division.


9.  Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

10.  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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  Army Regulation 640-2-1 (Personnel Qualification Records) prescribes the policies for preparing, maintaining, and disposing of the Military Personnel Record Jacket and Personnel Qualification Record.  The regulation states, in pertinent part, that award certificates, citations, or separation certificates alone will not be the basis for entry of a decoration on a Soldier's DD Form 214.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no general orders available which awarded the applicant the Purple Heart.  There are no medical records available and the applicant did not provide any evidence which show he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam.  Further, based on the applicant's own admission, he received a slight head wound and continued with his job.

2.  Additionally, the Army regulation as cited above states that award certificates alone will not be used as a basis for entering a decoration on a Soldier’s DD Form 214.  The Purple Heart Certificate is not in question; however, in the absence of orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart or other corroborating evidence, there is an insufficient basis to correct his DD Form 214 to show the award of the Purple Heart in this case. 

BOARD VOTE:

____X___  ____X___  ___X___  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  Notwithstanding the staff DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS above, the Board unanimously determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  The Board noted the applicant provided a Silver Star Citation, for the same date of action, which substantiates the time and place of the Purple Heart Citation.  The Board believed any reasonable doubt concerning the applicant's eligibility for award of the Purple Heart should be resolved in his favor.

2.  Therefore, the Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding the Purple Heart to item 13 of his DD Form 214.



      _________XXX___________
               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)                                         AR20100008274



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100008274



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