IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 September 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100008347
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 for an injury he received in a fire fight while he was in Vietnam helping to carry wounded Soldiers to a helicopter.
2. The applicant states he received shrapnel in his left shoulder which is still in his arm and that he is willing to be x-rayed if needed. He states that his records do not indicate he was injured.
3. The applicant provides a "buddy statement" from his "point man," dated 27 February 2005, and a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), dated 15 December 2008.
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. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on
3 September 1969 and he completed training as a light weapons infantryman. He arrived in Vietnam on 7 February 1970.
3. A review of the applicant's records does not show he was wounded or injured while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action while he was in Vietnam.
4. He departed Vietnam enroute to the Continental United States on 27 March 1970.
5. On 4 June 1970, the applicant was honorably released from active duty due to hardship and he was transferred to the United States Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his service obligation.
6. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows he was awarded the following:
* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar
7. On 20 July 2007, the applicant was issued a DD Form 215 (Correction to
DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) that shows:
* The Vietnam Service Medal was deleted from item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations) of his DD Form 214
* the following awards were added to Item 24 of his DD Form 214: the Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze service star and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation
* Item 30 (Remarks) was corrected to show "Served in Vietnam from
7 February 1970 to 27 March 1970."
8. The applicant submits a letter dated 27 February 2005 from an individual who states he served with the applicant in Vietnam. In the letter the individual states:
* He and the applicant were in a fire fight on an unknown date
* The applicant was helping carry the wounded to helicopters for medical evacuation
* They received an incoming Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) round or mortar and after the event the applicant stated he was hit in his shoulder
* The applicant's shoulder looked like it had three or four bee stings
* The applicant did not see a medic and he found out later that the applicant's wife picked out three pieces of shrapnel from his shoulder
* The applicant was in several combat situations while he was in the field
9. The letter from the VA dated 15 December 2008 simply replies to the applicant's request for the Purple Heart. It provides instructions on how to apply for the Purple Heart and to have his records corrected if he believes he is entitled to the Purple Heart.
10. The applicants name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty list as being wounded in action while he was in Vietnam.
11. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contentions and the documents he submitted were considered. However, the evidence is not sufficient to warrant awarding him the Purple Heart.
2. The available evidence does not show that he was ever wounded while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action while he was in Vietnam.
3. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty list as being wounded in action and the evidence he submitted does not show he was treated for the alleged injury. The letter of support provided by the applicant acknowledges he did not see a medic; therefore, he did not meet the eligibility criteria 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) AR20100008347
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090006671
There are no general orders in the applicants service personnel records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. There are no orders in the applicants service personnel records that show that he was awarded the Purple Heart. Nowhere in his records does it indicate he was wounded.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080018517
The applicant's records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 June 1969. The applicant's contention that he was wounded in the Republic of Vietnam and the supporting witness statement he submitted were carefully considered; however, there is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart to the applicant in this case. There are no general orders that show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart and there is no evidence in his service personnel records...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100017690
He was treated for his shrapnel wound and other injuries and was released with his medical records to his unit. In this case, the applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster, his DA Form 20 does not reflect a combat wound, his record is void of any orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart, and there is no conclusive evidence in his service personnel records that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds. There is no...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100000172
His service medical record shows that he did have a fragment removed from his right shoulder on 25 February 1970. The record of medical treatment showing he had a piece of shrapnel removed from his shoulder, as corroborated by contemporaneous letters he sent to his wife explaining the enemy origin of the wound, is accepted as sufficient evidence to show he met the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple Heart. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130009277
Another wave hit and the last thing he remembers is hanging on to a safety chain along the boat in water up to his knees. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Award) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart and its addition to his DD Form 214 at this time.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120001440
He departed Vietnam on 11 August 1969 for assignment to Fort Carson, Colorado where he remained until he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on 13 March 1970 due to the expiration of his term of service (ETS). The requirements for award of the Purple Heart require that the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record and there is no such evidence present in the available records. Therefore, in the absence of such evidence there is an insufficient basis to...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120006831
He further states the aircraft commander and he were severely injured and medically evacuated to the 67th Evacuation Hospital at Pleiku and to the 61st Medical Battalion in Qui Nhon. The applicant provides: * DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) dated 16 October 1971 * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 30 September 1980 * Honorable Discharge Certificate * Self-authored memoir of the events that led to the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080005265
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant essentially requested that he be awarded the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster, and provided a Clinical Record Cover Sheet which essentially shows that he was treated for a dislocated shoulder on 1 June 1971 which he sustained when he jumped from a helicopter while closing in on a landing zone. A check of the Vietnam Casualty Roster shows that there is only one entry showing that the applicant was wounded in action, that being on 3 July...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120023010
He provides eyewitness statements from fellow Soldiers attesting the applicant ignored his own two wounds to treat wounded Soldiers on 30 June 1970. There is no evidence of record which shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, in the absence of corroborating evidence showing he was wounded as a result of friendly fire in Vietnam, the eyewitness statements provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for awarding the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140016754
The applicant states: * his DD Form 214 should reflect award of the Purple Heart * he was hospitalized in Saigon, Vietnam, in October 1969 for injuries sustained from an incoming mortar explosion, leaving him with shrapnel in his right shoulder * he was asked to go with other Soldiers from the hospital to the home of the Ambassador to Vietnam * he was attached to the 196th Infantry Division (sic) at the time 3. His records contain multiple documents, to include Western Union telegrams,...