IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  16 November 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100013572 


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.  

2.  The applicant states the following:

* He received shrapnel wounds to his left arm during extraction/insertion of ground troops into a hot landing zone while he was performing as a crew chief/gunner and he was not awarded the Purple Heart
* The approximate date of the incident was 6 May 1966
* Several severely wounded troops were on board when he landed at the aid station 
* He asked someone to check his arm at the aid station and some shrapnel was removed and his arm was bandaged
* He went back to his helicopter and he believes it was just an oversight in the "heat of the battle" that his injury and treatment were not documented

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his application:

* Self-authored statement
* Orders for award of the Air Medal (Sixteenth Oak Leaf Cluster) with "V" Device
* Witness statement
* 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.  The applicant initially enlisted in the Regular Army on 3 September 1963 and was discharged on 12 October 1964 for immediate reenlistment.  He reenlisted on 13 October 1964.  On 24 March 1965, he was awarded military occupational specialty 67N (Helicopter Mechanic).  

3.  He served in Vietnam from 19 August 1965 to 23 August 1966 with the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.  He was assigned in MOS 67N and he performed duties associated with his MOS.

4.  The applicant provided a copy of orders for award of the Air Medal (Sixteenth Oak Leaf Cluster) with "V" Device which shows he participated in an extraction and combat assault on 6 May 1966 as a crew chief and gunner in support of Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry during Operation Davy Crockett in the Republic of Vietnam.  These orders do not indicate he was wounded as a result of hostile action.  

5.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not list the Purple Heart in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).  His personnel records do not contain orders which show he was awarded the Purple Heart.  His DA Form 20 does not list any wounds as a result of hostile action in item 40 (Wounds).  His name is not included on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.

6.  The applicant’s service record does not contain medical documents which show he was treated for wounds received as a result of hostile action.  

7.  The applicant was released from active duty on 12 October 1967.  



8.  The applicant provided a self-authored statement in which he stated the following:

* He met with the Chairman of the Veterans Advisory Board and the Commander Disabled American Veterans (Tampa Chapter 4) in reference to benefits related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
* The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determined he suffered from PTSD but he was not granted compensation
* He was advised to gather witness statements and to contact this Board for award of the Purple Heart

9.  The applicant provided a statement from a witness who recalled that the applicant was wounded.  The witness had been a door gunner and a crew member with the applicant for about 6 months when the applicant was wounded.  The witness saw the applicant bleeding and wrapped his wound as best he could.  He told the pilots to head for the first aid station.  The witness remembers the applicant had his wound cleaned and wrapped at the aid station and that the applicant got back on the chopper.  The witness could not recall if the applicant took any time off because of that wound.  

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Purple Heart is awarded for 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’s service record does not include medical documents which show he was treated for wounds he received as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.  

2.  The applicant’s name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.  In the absence of evidence to corroborate the witness statement which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.



BOARD VOTE:

___X____  ____X___  ____X__  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  Notwithstanding the staff DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS above, the Board believed the applicant presented credible evidence of being wounded and treated for those wounds sufficient to warrant award of the Purple Heart.  Although there is no report of casualty, this appears to be a plausible oversight given the aid station was in the midst of accepting battle casualties.  The description of the engagement with the enemy in his Air Medal with "V" device orders and the witness statement he provided further corroborate his contention that he was wounded in action.

2.  Therefore, the Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for full relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

     a.  awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received on 6 May 1966 and

     b.  adding the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214.



      _______ _   XXX____   ___
               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)                                         AR20100013572



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100013572



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