BOARD DATE: 13 September 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110004937
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 while in Vietnam he came under fire and he was struck in the neck by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade. He was injured by the enemy in battle; therefore, he deserves the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides his DD Forms 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 1 May 1970 and
19 June 1972.
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 19 August 1969. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11C (indirect fire Crewman). He was reassigned to Vietnam on
20 January 1970.
3. On 1 May 1970, he was discharged for the purpose of immediate enlistment and on 2 May 1970 he enlisted in the Regular Army for a period of 3 years. On 10 August 1970 he was awarded the primary MOS of 67N (UH-1 helicopter repairman) and MOS 11C was awarded as his secondary MOS.
4. During his assignment in Vietnam he was assigned to:
* 2nd Battalion (Airmobile), 501st Infantry Regiment from 2 February 1970 through 1 May 1970
* 5th Transportation Battalion (Airmobile), 101st Airborne Division from
2 May to 7 December 1970
5. On 19 January 1972, he was honorably early released from active duty and he was transferred to an Army National Guard unit to complete his remaining service obligation. He completed 2 years and 5 months of total active service.
6. There are no orders in his record showing award of the Purple Heart.
7. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart.
8. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
9. There is no medical evidence in the applicant's available record that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action during his active service.
10. 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 orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
11. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing failed to show the applicant's name as a casualty.
12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that 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:
There is no evidence of record and the applicant did not provide any evidence to show he received a wound/injury as a result of hostile action or that he was treated by medical personnel for such wounds. In the absence of documentary evidence that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, regrettably, there is insufficient evidence upon 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 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) AR20110004937
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