BOARD DATE: 23 June 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100030164
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 on June 19, 1967, during an ambush. His unit lost 32 men and had 76 wounded that day. During the firefight he was wounded on his left wrist.
3. The applicant provides copies of a his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge), a photograph with the notation "scar", a letter from a former Soldier who was in his unit, and the orders awarding him the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device .
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 ito the Army on 16 May 1966. He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
3. He served in Vietnam from 28 January 1967 to 1 January 1968.
4. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), item 40 (Wounds), contains no entry, and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) lists the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device, two overseas bars, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.
5. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was honorably released from active duty on 15 May 1968. 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, Combat Infantryman Badge, Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze service star, Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), and the Bronze Star Medal.
7. He was awarded the Bronze Star with "V" Device for action on 19 June 1967. However, there is no reference to him being wounded in the Reason/Narrative of the general orders.
8. His service medical records are not available. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty list.
9. 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command failed to reveal orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.
10. In support of his request, the applicant provides a letter from a former Soldier who was in his unit and participated in the firefight on 19 June 1967. He states that during the firefight the applicant "had his wristwatch blown off his arm but kept retuning fire at the enemy." He believes award of the Purple Heart is justified.
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. 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. There are no available general orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart. The Vietnam Casualty Roster does not contain the applicant's name.
2. The letter from the former Soldier who witnessed the incident is noted, however, without official records substantiating medical treatment for the wound there is insufficient evidence to award him the Purple Heart.
3. 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) AR20100030164
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