BOARD DATE: 20 September 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110004930
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 served as an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry in Vietnam. During a mission in July or August 1968, he came off a helicopter and he was involved in a firefight when he stepped on a booby trap that had metal stakes in it. A stake penetrated his boots and injured his foot/toes. A medic bandaged his foot. He did not know at the time that the tip of the metal broke off in his foot.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* Page 3 of his 4-page DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* Medical document from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 8 June 1967 and he held military occupational specialty 11D (Armor Reconnaissance Specialist). He served in Vietnam from 26 June 1968 to 25 June 1969. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
3. He was honorably released from active duty on 5 June 1970 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows the: National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Air Medal, and Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.
4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Forms 20 does not reflect a combat wound or injury and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of this form does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. His records do not contain general orders authorizing him award of the Purple Heart and his name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster.
6. His available service medical records show he underwent a separation physical and he was found fully qualified for separation.
7. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to him.
8. He submitted a medical statement from the VA, dated 28 January 2011, wherein the physician noted a narrowing between the joints of the toes.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and 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:
1. The criteria for the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
2. The applicant's service record is void of any orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or injured as a result of combat. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster and his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat related wound. Additionally, his available medical records do not reflect a combat injury and/or treatment.
3. Notwithstanding the applicant's contention and sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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) AR20110004930
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110004930
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