BOARD DATE:	  16 August 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110003095 


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 a Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) and Purple Heart (PH).  

2.  The applicant states his commander announced to the unit that he was putting them in for a PUC.  He further states officials at the Madison Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital indicated he should be eligible for the PH.  

3.  The applicant provides no documentary evidence in support of his application.  

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 into the Army of the United States on 23 August 1968.  He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13A (Cannoneer).

3.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 14 January 1969 to 10 January 1970.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows that during his RVN tour he was assigned to Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery Regiment, performing duties in MOS 13A as a cannoneer.  Item 40 (Wounds) is blank and the PH and PUC are not included in the list of awards contained in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).  

4.  The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) is void of orders or documents indicating he was wounded in action in the RVN.  It is also void of medical treatment records indicating he was ever treated for a combat-related wound.

5.  On 21 August 1970, the applicant was honorably released from active duty after completing 2 years of active military service.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he was issued at the time shows the:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* RVN Campaign Medal
* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar

6.  Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not contain the applicant's name.

7.  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 the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

8.  There is no evidence of record and the applicant did not provide any evidence that shows his unit in the RVN at the time of his assignment was recommended for or awarded the PUC.


9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy.  Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on the PH.  It states the PH is awarded to members wounded in action.  It also states in order to award the PH there must be evidence of the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the awards received by units serving in Vietnam.  This pamphlet shows the 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery Regiment, was cited for award of the PUC for the period 23 October through 26 November 1965 by Department of the Army General Orders Number 40, dated 1967.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s request to be awarded the PH and PUC has been carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support this claim.

2.  By regulation, in order to support award of the PH there must be evidence that the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, that it required treatment by medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The applicant’s record is void of any entries or documents corroborating his claim that he was wounded in action in the RVN, or that shows he was ever treated for a combat-related wound by medical personnel while serving in the RVN.

3.  Item 40 of the applicant's DA Form 20 is blank which indicates he was never wounded in action.  Further, there is no entry pertaining to the applicant on the Vietnam casualty listing, the official DA list of RVN casualties.  Absent any evidence of record corroborating the applicant’s claim he received a shrapnel wound as a result of enemy action in the RVN, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the PH has not been satisfied in this case. 

4.  The applicant’s request to add the PUC to his DD Form 214 has also been carefully considered.  However, the governing publication fails to show his unit was cited for award of the PUC during his period of assignment to the unit in the RVN.  As a result, there is also an insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting this portion of the requested relief.

5.  The applicant and all others concerned should know this action related to award of the PH and PUC in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
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)                                         AR20110003095



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110003095



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