IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  12 October 2010 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100011267


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 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states:

* he was presented with the Combat Infantryman Badge prior to leaving Vietnam
* he was awarded the Purple Heart for an injury he received from a punji stick as indicated in his medical records
* he served in numerous combat operations in the central highlands of Vietnam while assigned to combat duty with the 173rd Airborne Brigade

3.  The applicant provides copies of the following documents:

* DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* Army Clinical Records
* DD Form 640 (Nursing Notes)
* DD Form 728 (Doctor's Orders)

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.  On 25 August 1966, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years, in the pay grade of E-1, and he completed training in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (light weapons infantryman).  He arrived in Vietnam on 9 March 1967 and he was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

3.  The applicant's DA Form 8-275 and 8-273-3 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet) shows that on 28 October 1967 he was admitted to the 91st Evacuation Hospital for an abscess on his left elbow.  According to the clinical record narrative summary, the abscess was due to a bamboo puncture.  He was given a local anesthesia and an incision was made for the purpose of drainage.  He was prescribed antibiotics and he was discharged from the hospital on 12 November 1967.  These records make no mention of his injury being the result of a punji stick.

4.  A review of the available records does not show that the applicant engaged in active ground combat while he was in Vietnam.

5.  The applicant returned to the continental United States on 6 March 1968.  He was honorably released from active duty on 20 August 1969 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining service obligation.

6.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.

7.  There are no orders in the applicant's records showing he was awarded the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge and his name is not shown on the Vietnam Casualty Listing.


8.  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 awarding the applicant the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.

9.  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.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states there are basically three requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contentions have been noted; however, they are not substantiated by the evidence of record.

2.  His medical records show he was treated for an abscess on his left elbow as a result of a bamboo puncture.  However, his medical records do not show his injury was from a punji stick or that the injury was incurred as a result of hostile action.  There is no evidence in the available record, nor has the applicant submitted any evidence, to show that the bamboo puncture was from a punji stick and not from some other bamboo object.

3.  Additionally neither the Vietnam Casualty Listing, his DD Form 214, nor his DA Form 20 show he was wounded in action while he was in the Army.

4.  While it is clear that the applicant was an infantryman, his records do not show that he ever engaged in active ground combat when he was in Vietnam.

5.  As previously stated, there are no orders in ADCARS or in his official records showing that orders was published awarding him the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.  He has provided insufficient evidence to support of contention that he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

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)                                         AR20100011267



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100011267



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