IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 14 October 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100012456
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 he was awarded the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
2. The applicant states:
* he was awarded two Purple Hearts and only one is shown on his DD Form 214
* he was wounded on 19 January 1968 and he was transferred to a medical unit in-country
* the medical unit was under attack and he was wounded again while he was assisting other patients
* he was transported to another hospital for treatment
3. The applicant provides copies of the following:
* his DD Form 214
* a certificate showing he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 20 January 1968, dated 22 January 1968
* a certificate showing he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 19 January 1968, dated 25 June 1968
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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 7 June 1966 for 3 years. He completed training as a field artillery crewmember. He arrived in Vietnam on
24 October 1967 and he was assigned to Battery C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 320th Artillery, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile).
3. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he received a fragment wound to his right arm on 19 January 1968, while he was in Vietnam.
4. On 26 June 1968, General Orders Number 3002 were published awarding the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 19 January 1968.
5. The applicant departed Vietnam on 16 October 1968 en route to the continental United States. He applicant was honorably released from active duty on 6 June 1969, at the expiration of his term of service. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows one award of the Purple Heart.
6. The applicant submitted a certificate showing he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 19 January 1968. He also submitted a
certificate showing he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in
action on 20 January 1968. However, a review of the applicant's records does not show that he was wounded twice while he was in the Army and there are no orders contained in his available records awarding him the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
7. 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 (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
8. The Vietnam Casualty Reference Name Listing shows the applicant was wounded in action on 19 January 1968. This listing does not show he was wounded in action on 20 January 1968.
9. U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) stated the authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital commanders. Further, it directed that all personnel treated and released within 24 hours would be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to which the individual is 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 applicant's contentions and supporting documents have been considered. However, a review of the applicant's available records does not corroborate that he was wounded twice while he was in the Army and there are no orders contained therein awarding him the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
2. His name is listed only once on the Vietnam Casualty Listing as being wounded in action and there is no corroborating medical documentation or the actual orders awarding him a second award of the Purple Heart.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
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) AR20100012456
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100012456
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