IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 28 July 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110001403
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 Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and Purple Heart.
2. He states:
* he was hospitalized for 6 months after a truck explosion
* he supported the Marine's infantry under constant fire
3. He provides:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* DA Form 8-274 (Medical Condition Physical Profile Record)
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's records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 2 November 1965. He completed training in MOS 13F (Automatic Weapons Crewman).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows:
a. item 22 (MOS) his primary MOS (PMOS) as 13F, Automatic Weapons Crewman, awarded 18 March 1966;
b. item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 20 October 1966 to 24 February 1967;
c. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) he was assigned to Battery B, 1st Battalion, 44th Field Artillery Regiment from 20 October 1966 to 23 February 1967 in duty MOS 13F with duties as a light truck driver;
d. Item 38 he was assigned to the U.S. Army Hospital from 24 February to 16 May 1967 in a patient status;
e. Item 40 (Wounds) contains no entry; and
f. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show award of the CIB or
Purple Heart.
4. He submitted a DA Form 8-274, dated 29 March 1967, which shows he received a permanent profile for Spondylolisthesis LR-S1. [A condition in which a vertebrae in the part of the spine slips out of the proper position.]
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 2 November 1967 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training).
6. His records do not show any evidence that he assigned to an infantry unit while he was in the RVN.
7. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders on file for the applicant awarding him the Purple Heart.
8. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
9. There are also no medical records in his Official Military Personnel File that show he was wounded due to hostile action in Vietnam.
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.
11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the CIB is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS. They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size. Additionally, appendix V of U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provides that during the Vietnam era the CIB was awarded only to enlisted Soldiers who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11D, 11F, 11G, or 11H.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The available evidence shows the applicant held and served in an artillery MOS while assigned to an artillery unit. It does not show that he served in an infantry unit as an infantryman and was engaged in active ground combat while serving with an infantry unit. Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the CIB.
2. The regulation governing award of Purple Heart indicates the wound for which the award is being made must have been 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 medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. Regrettably, there is no evidence in the applicant's record and he provided none to show he was wounded as a result of hostile action and he meets the above criteria. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence in which to base award of the Purple Heart.
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 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) AR20110001403
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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