IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 29 December 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100017520
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 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he was wounded in the right foot and presented the Purple Heart at the field hospital. He received the medal and paperwork but the award was not included on his DD Form 214.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214.
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's service medical and dental records are believed to be on permanent loan to the Department of Veterans Affairs and are not available for review.
3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 13 October 1967, completed training, and was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) 64A (Light Vehicle Driver. On 15 September 1968, he was awarded primary MOS 64B (Heavy Vehicle Driver).
4. He served in Vietnam from 1 April 1968 through 15 May 1969.
5. A DD Form 261 (Report of Investigation - Line of Duty and Misconduct Status), dated 30 May 1968, shows the applicant received a self-inflicted accidental gunshot wound to his right foot on 15 April 1968. The wound was determined to have been in the line of duty with no misconduct or negligence.
6. In a 14 May 1968 statement, the applicant stated that he was serving as a radio telephone operator for a security detail for a river crossing operation. As he stood up to go to a jeep driven by a platoon sergeant, he transferred his rifle from one hand to the other and accidentally discharged it into his right foot. The applicant's statement was verified by other personnel present. He was taken to the 9th Medical Battalion for treatment.
7. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 16 May 1969. His DD Form 214 shows 1 year, 7 months, and 4 days of creditable service with no lost time. His awards are listed as the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), and the Army Commendation Medal.
8. A review of the Vietnam Casualty List failed to locate any reference to the applicant.
9. 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 any award.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), paragraph 2-8 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against the enemy or as a result of hostile action. The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant states he was wounded in the right foot and presented the Purple Heart at the field hospital. He received the medal and paperwork but the award was not included on his DD Form 214.
2. The only wound recorded in the available records is an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound to the applicant's right foot on 15 April 1968.
3. An accidental wounding does not qualify for award of the Purple Heart because it was not sustained while in action against the enemy or as a result of hostile action.
4. In light of the above, the applicant's request should be denied.
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) AR20100017520
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100017520
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