IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 10 March 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100022826
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 for fragment wounds.
2. The applicant states he never received the Purple Heart for fragment wounds and ribs fracture. He contends the Army has on paper that he was given the Purple Heart but he never received it.
3. The applicant provides a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), dated 9 June 2010.
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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 18 February 1969. Upon completion of training he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
3. Item 31 (Foreign Service) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 24 August 1969 through 23 August 1970. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows he was in a patient status from 12 June 1970 to 8 July 1970. Item 40 (Wounds) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
4. There is no evidence in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) that indicates he was ever recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart or that he was ever treated for a combat-related wound. His name is not listed in the Vietnam casualty roster.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 16 October 1970. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Commendations Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) does not include the Purple Heart.
6. 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 the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
7. He provides a letter from the DVA in response to his claim for fragment wounds and fractured ribs. The DVA requested additional evidence, such as treatment records pertinent to his claimed conditions, including reports or statements from doctors, hospitals, medical facilities; x-rays, physical therapy records, surgical reports, etc. The DVA further requested evidence showing his claim was service-connected.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while 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. His record does not contain orders or any other documentation indicating he was ever recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam. His DA Form 20 contains no entries which indicate he was ever wounded in action and his name is not included on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
2. His DA Form 20 shows he was in a patient status. However, there is no evidence of record and he did not provide any evidence showing he was admitted to the medical facility for wounds sustained as a result of a hostile attack. In the absence of such evidence, there is insufficient basis to award him the Purple Heart or to correct his records to show this award.
3. In view of the foregoing, his 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) AR20100022826
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100022826
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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