IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 March 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100021813
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 wounded in Vietnam in 1967/1968
* he was the noncommissioned officer in charge of the receiving and shipping/distribution section and their convoys came under enemy fire
* he received shrapnel wounds to both sides of his head during an attack/firefight on the convoy
* he was treated in the field and he declined medical evacuation
* his in-country medical records were lost
* When he retired in 1982 he was advised the missing records had been noted
* he has scars on both sides of his head
3. The applicant provides a letter from a Member of Congress, dated 8 July 2010, in support of his application.
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 enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 12 June 1961. On 31 May 1964, he was honorably discharged for immediate reenlistment. He reenlisted on 1 June 1964 for a period of 6 years. He served in Vietnam from 25 September 1966 to 19 September 1967. On 18 March 1970, he was honorably discharged for immediate reenlistment.
3. His DD Form 214 for the period ending 18 March 1970 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in his service personnel records.
5. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show award of 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. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, 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 pertaining to the applicant.
7. He reenlisted in the RA on 19 March 1970 and remained on active duty through continuous reenlistments until he retired on 30 June 1982 in the rank of first sergeant.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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:
No evidence shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. 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 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) AR20100021813
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100021813
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