IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 December 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100014501
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:
* He was treated at the 8th Field Hospital in Vietnam for head trauma in July/August 1969 due to a mortar attack
* He was also treated for a shoulder injury in November 1969
* An ammunition dump was hit by mortar and the explosion/fire caused havoc on the hospital and its records
3. The applicant provides:
* Page 2 of an unidentified document
* his DD Form 214 (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 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 5 January 1967 for a period of 3 years. He served as a combat construction specialist in Vietnam from
30 November 1968 to 29 November 1969. On 30 November 1969, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation.
3. The applicant's DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the applicants service personnel records.
5. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
6. On 30 November 1969, the applicant underwent a separation physical examination which makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Items 18 (Head, Face, Neck, and Scalp) and 35 (Upper Extremities) of his Standard Form (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 30 November 1969, show he was rated normal.
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 for award of the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
8. In support of his claim, the applicant provided page 2 of an unidentified document which shows he reported he was treated for headaches and nerves in July/August 1969 at the 8th Field Hospital in Vietnam. He also reported he was treated for a shoulder injury prior to his release from the service.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that 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 contends he was treated for head trauma and a shoulder injury in Vietnam.
2. There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. His SF 88, dated 30 November 1969, makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence in which to base 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) AR20100014501
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100014501
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050001012C070206
A 7 December 1967 clinical record which the applicant submits with his request, shows that the applicant was transferred from the 71st Evacuation Hospital (in Vietnam) and admitted to the United States Army Hospital at Camp Zama in Japan on 9 November 1967 for an evaluation of seizure disorder. The applicant had a seizure disorder and dislocated his shoulder in Vietnam in November 1967. Therefore, the Board requests that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050001012C070206
A 7 December 1967 clinical record which the applicant submits with his request, shows that the applicant was transferred from the 71st Evacuation Hospital (in Vietnam) and admitted to the United States Army Hospital at Camp Zama in Japan on 9 November 1967 for an evaluation of seizure disorder. On 24 March 1993 this Board denied the applicant’s request for physical disability retirement or discharge. The applicant had a seizure disorder and dislocated his shoulder in Vietnam in November 1967.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090004351
The applicant's medical records are not available for review with this case. There are no general orders that show the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart; there is no evidence in his service personnel records that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds; and his name is not shown on the Vietnam Casualty Roster. _______ _ X_______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090003270
Item 24 does not show award of the Purple Heart. The applicant's complete medical records are not available for review with this case. The former S-1 message center sergeant also states that the CSM said that the applicant was making a mistake by refusing the Purple Heart; b. in a statement, dated 13 January 2009, a comrade-in-arms and former member of the unit states that he was stationed with the applicant in the same unit as an illustrator and that during one late-night mortar attack in...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080018137
A thorough review of the applicants military personnel records revealed that there are no orders in the applicants records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. In addition, a search of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System for the Vietnam Conflict failed to produce orders showing award of the Purple Heart to the applicant for wounds received in action in Vietnam. The evidence of record also shows, in pertinent part, that...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120007048
His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Although contemporaneous medical evidence (his SF 88, dated 22 May 1969) states he had mixed hearing loss and he was exposed to explosions in Vietnam, it does not mention any injuries or wounds...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2015 | 20150004142
In his request for reconsideration, he stated: * he sustained a concussion in Vietnam and was sent to Japan to recover from this concussion * he was not sent back to Vietnam because of the medical issues with hearing loss, headaches, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which are all service-connected * he was given a permanent physical profile and upon returning stateside, he was assigned to supply, then finance, then special services * he was also treated at Fort Meade, MD for ears,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090013542
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 14 January 2010 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090013542 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. There is no evidence in the available records which show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. The service medical record provided by the applicant does not show that the lacerations to his legs were the result of hostile action.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080005265
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant essentially requested that he be awarded the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster, and provided a Clinical Record Cover Sheet which essentially shows that he was treated for a dislocated shoulder on 1 June 1971 which he sustained when he jumped from a helicopter while closing in on a landing zone. A check of the Vietnam Casualty Roster shows that there is only one entry showing that the applicant was wounded in action, that being on 3 July...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100009850
Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he received "excellent" conduct and efficiency rating throughout his service. The evidence of record shows he sustained shrapnel wounds to his left shoulder on 23 March 1967 in Vietnam and he appears to have been evacuated to a field hospital subsequent to this injury. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. deleting from...