IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 November 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100012864
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 wounds he received in November or December of 1970.
2. The applicant states he was offered the Purple Heart that had been cleared by proper channels, but he declined it.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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. In the processing of this case, the ABCMR was unable to obtain the applicant's military personnel records. His service medical records were not available for review. The only record available to the ABCMR was the DD Form 214 he provided.
3. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 July 1968 for a period of 3 years. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 76Y (Supply Specialist).
4. Item 30 (Remarks) of the applicant's DD Form 214 indicates he served in the Republic of Vietnam from 31 May 1970 to 26 April 1971.
5. On 27 April 1971, the applicant was released from active duty. He completed 2 years, 9 months, and 4 days of active service that was characterized as honorable. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
6. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty listing.
7. A 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart for the applicant.
8. Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Military Awards), then in effect, provided that the Purple Heart was awarded to any member of an Armed Force or any civilian national of the United States who while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services had been wounded, killed, or who had died as a result of 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds he received in the Republic of Vietnam in November or December 1970.
2. The applicant's military personnel records and his service medical records were not available for review. There are no orders in ADCARS awarding the applicant the Purple Heart and his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.
3. In the absence of military records which show the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base the award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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) AR20100012864
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100012864
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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