IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 16 June 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100029545
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, in effect, that his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart and that he be provided a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) to show this correction.
2. He states he received a broken jaw when he was blown off a helicopter by a rocket attack, but he was never awarded the Purple Heart.
3. He provides his DD Form 214 and a page from his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rating decision.
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 9 June 1970. After completing initial entry training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 67A (Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice). He was honorably released from active duty on 6 January 1972 after completing 1 year, 6 months, and 28 days of total active service.
3. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was assigned for duty in Vietnam with Troop B, 7th Battalion, 17th Cavalry, from 15 January to 15 December 1971. This form shows he served in MOS 67A with principal duty as a door gunner throughout this period of service.
4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 contains no entries.
5. His service medical records are not available to the Board for review.
6. His record is void of documentation showing he was wounded during his service in Vietnam or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.
7. His name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
8. 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 Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders awarding the Purple Heart to him.
9. The page he provides from his VA rating decision shows the VA established service connection for temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ). The document shows the VA examiner had reviewed his service medical records, which showed he incurred a fractured jaw in the line of duty on 16 June 1971.
10. 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:
The VA reports the applicant's service medical records show his jaw was fractured during his service in Vietnam. However, the available documentation does not show he incurred this injury while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. In the absence of such documentation, there is an insufficient basis for awarding him the Purple Heart or correcting his record to show this award.
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) AR20100029545
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100029545
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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