IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 September 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110005612
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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he received the actual Purple Heart in a box during a parade in March or April 1970; however, he did not receive the paperwork for it because he was sent out on a mission. He had sustained a chest injury on 27 January 1970 from a bayonet during hand-to-hand combat with an enemy sapper. He was treated in the field by a field medic. He was then taken to a medical center for further treatment.
3. The applicant provides his DD Form 214, Immunization Record, and DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification 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 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 18 November 1968 and he held military occupational specialty 94B (Cook). He served in Vietnam from 22 May 1969 to 28 June 1970. He was assigned to the 820th Ordnance Company and later to the 661st Ordnance Company.
3. He was honorably released from active duty on 28 June 1970. 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 with "1960" Device
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
* Two overseas service bars
4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 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 at Fort Lewis, WA, on 28 June 1970. He noted that there was no change in his physical condition. No combat wound, injury, or treatment was noted.
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 his DA Form 20 to confirm his service in Vietnam and his immunization record, dated on various dates throughout his service, which shows he received a field bandage on 24 February 1970.
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 applicant contends his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
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