IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 7 June 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100028752
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 wounds received in Vietnam.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he is 70% service connected disabled due to his service in Vietnam.
3. The applicant provided a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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 was inducted in the Army of the United States on 1 May 1968. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 12A (Pioneer).
3. Records show the applicant served in Vietnam from 25 September 1968 to 24 September 1969 and was assigned to Company A, 26th Engineer Battalion.
4. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank in item 40 (Wounds), and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) lists the National Defense Service Medal, Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), and two Overseas Service Bars.
5. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was honorably released from active duty effective 1 May 1970 as a specialist four (SP4)/E-4. He completed 2 years of total active service.
6. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows the National Defense Service Medal, two Overseas Service Bars, Good Conduct Medal (1st Award), Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960).
7. His service medical records are not available. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty list.
8. A 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 award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.
9. 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. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under hostile action. A physical lesion is not required, however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by medical personnel and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Neither the applicant's available records nor the Vietnam casualty listing provide any evidence that the applicant was wounded, 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.
2. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting 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) AR20100028752
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