IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 February 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100021507
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 and correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show this award.
2. The applicant states, in effect, he should have been awarded the Purple Heart for wounds he received caused by the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). He states the omission of this award was an oversight on the part of his former commander.
3. The applicant provides his DD Form 214 and a self-authored statement.
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 29 November 1965 for a 3-year term. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 13F (Automatic Weapons Crewman).
3. Records show he served in the RVN from on or about 15 January 1968 to
5 November 1968. During this time he was assigned to Battery D, 4th Battalion, 60th Artillery Regiment, 41st Artillery Group, I Field Force Vietnam Artillery.
4. His DD Form 214 shows he was honorably released from active duty on
7 November 1968 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining service obligation. His DD Form 214 shows he completed 2 years, 11 months, and 9 days of net service during this period of active duty, including 1 year, 9 months, and 28 days of foreign service.
5. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows the:
* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* RVN Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16)
* 1 overseas service bar
6. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank, indicating he did not sustain any wounds during his military service.
7. His available record does not contain orders for the Purple Heart, nor does his name appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
8. His available record also do not contain any medical documents pertaining to the treatment of any wounds or injuries sustained by the applicant during his service in Vietnam.
9. The applicant provided a self-authored statement, in which he states:
* he was stationed on Pleiku Air Base in the central highlands area of Vietnam
* one day, while en route to provide security to a convoy, his tank hit a land mine, causing him wounds to his back and mouth
*
the trauma was severe enough to ruin several teeth
* he does not have medical documentation because there were no medical personnel available and he could not leave his Soldiers alone
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or 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 request for award of award of the Purple Heart, and correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award, was carefully considered; however, there is insufficient evidence to support his request.
2. Neither his available records, nor the Vietnam casualty roster, provide any evidence he was wounded in the RVN, that those wounds were the result of hostile action that required treatment by medical personnel, or that the resulting medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient basis on which to grant award of the Purple Heart.
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) AR20100015543
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100021507
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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