IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 September 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100010169
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 and an unspecified "combat award."
2. The applicant states he was in combat as a tank gunner and received a shrapnel wound to his right upper chest just below his armpit. He needs proof that he was in combat to qualify for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits as well as for personal/family reasons.
3. The applicant provides no supporting documentation.
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 service medical and dental records are believed to be on permanent loan to the Department of Veterans Affairs and are not available for review.
3. The applicant, a retired U.S. Army Reserve staff sergeant, enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 March 1964, completed training, and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 131.00 (Armor Crewman).
4. He reenlisted on 22 April 1965 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. The record does not contain any specific information as to what units he served with or the complete dates or duration of his service in Vietnam.
5. The applicant's DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 12 April 1968 shows that at some point during his enlistment, he reclassified to MOS 94B (Cook).
6. The available records do not contain any indication that the applicant was authorized, recommended for, or received any award that could be considered a combat award. Nor is there any evidence that he sustained any combat-related wounds.
7. A review of the Vietnam casualty list failed to locate any reference to the applicant.
8. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for any awards for the applicant.
9. U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) governed the military awards program in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It 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 states he served in combat as a tank gunner and received a shrapnel wound to his right upper chest. Based on this, he believes he is entitled to the Purple Heart and a combat award.
2. The applicant's records contain no documentation to support his contention that he received a wound as the result of hostile action. Without a record of treatment for a wound sustained as the result of enemy action, entitlement to the Purple Heart cannot be established.
3. His records contain no documentation to support his contention that he was recommended for, authorized, or awarded any award that could be considered a combat award.
4. In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.
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) AR20100007352
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100010169
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