IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 4 October 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110008162
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 that while he was the driver of a 5-ton bridge truck he was involved in an incident with two other Soldiers in Vietnam. He does not remember what happened after an explosion, but they were medically evacuated by helicopter. He was taken to a hospital and they took a piece of metal from his forehead. He suffered wounds to his left arm and leg but the worst wound was to his head which gave him a concussion. Two of the sergeants who were with him were not as severely injured as he but they got the Purple Heart. He was told his platoon sergeant was to request the award for him. He went to see his platoon sergeant who told him he needed to perform oral sex; however, he refused. He was a young man at the time and he was embarrassed to tell anyone about the incident. He believes he earned the Purple Heart but was not put in for it because he would not do what the platoon sergeant wanted.
3. The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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 17 March 1969. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 94B (cook).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 1 March 1970 to 31 January 1971. Item 40 (Wounds) of this form is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
4. There is no evidence in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and he did not provide any corroborating evidence that shows he was ever treated for a combat-related wound or awarded the Purple Heart. His service medical records are not available.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 2 February 1971 as an overseas returnee. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Commendations Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart.
6. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name listed as a casualty.
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. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention that he was wounded in action in Vietnam and he should have been awarded the Purple Heart has been carefully considered.
2. Regrettably, his record do not contain any documentation indicating he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action as outlined in the governing regulation. His name is also not included on the Vietnam casualty listing.
3. Therefore, in view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting his requested relief.
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) AR20110008162
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110008162
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