IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    21 April 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100025500


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, in effect, that while in Vietnam, he was thrown out of a vehicle after it detonated a land mine.  He states he was the only Soldier who survived the blast, and now he has shrapnel all over his body, some of which has been removed over the years by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical personnel.

3.  The applicant provides:

* a DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty)
* a VA Form 10-7978g (Supplement Defined Data Base), dated 12 August 1993
* a Standard Form (SF) 502 (Narrative Summary), dated 16 May 1975
* a personal affidavit, dated 20 October 1994
* a letter from the clinical psychologist of the American Disabled Veterans Quality of Life Clinic, dated 28 March 1994

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.  On 14 May 1962, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for a period of
3 years.  He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 11C (Infantry Indirect Fire Crewman).

3.  His record shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from:

* 23 February 1966 to 28 May 1967, while assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment
* 29 August 1971 to 19 November 1971, while assigned to Company D, 17th Infantry Regiment, 191st Ordnance Battalion

4.  He continued to serve through reenlistments.  On 10 February 1977, he was honorably discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations - Enlisted Personnel), chapter 2, at the completion of required active service.  His DD Form 214 confirms he completed 15 years,
3 months, and 16 days of total active service.

5.  None of his DD Forms 214 show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not contain any entries identifying casualty wounds he may have sustained during his service in Vietnam.

7.  His available record does not contain any orders for the Purple Heart, nor does his name appear on the Vietnam casualty listing.

8.  His available record also does not contain any medical documents pertaining to the treatment of any wounds or injuries sustained by the applicant during his service in Vietnam.




9.  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.

10.  He provides:

	a.  a VA Form 10-7978g, dated 12 August 1993, in which a social worker details the applicant's numerous medical conditions for which he was being treated, attributing them to the rigors of combat.  This document does not provide specific evidence his wounds were incurred during his service in Vietnam.

	b.  an SF 502, dated 16 May 1975, in which an Army doctor details the applicant's numerous medical conditions for which he was being treated, specifically associating the applicant's chronic, intermittent back pain to an injury resulting from an artillery shell detonation while in Vietnam.

	c.  a personal affidavit, dated 20 October 1994, in which the applicant swears, affirms, and declares he was injured by an oil drum explosion in 1967, an injury which aggravated a previous back injury suffered in Vietnam for which he was medically evacuated to a hospital in Japan.

	d.  a letter from the clinical psychologist of the American Disabled Veterans Quality of Life Clinic, dated 28 March 1994, detailing his numerous medical and psychological impairments.

11.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart 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 that he was wounded in Vietnam, 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 in which to grant the applicant's requested relief.

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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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100025500



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