IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 3 November 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110009546
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 be added to item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
2. He states, in effect:
* he was in a helicopter crash on 29 October 1966
* his medical records are vague and not very informative
* there is very little information available about his complaints concerning his lower back and left shoulder
* the bruises to his mid to upper right side, lower back, and left shoulder should have been more carefully examined
* x-rays should have been taken at Cam Ranh Bay, Air Force Hospital
* he received these injuries and he has been left to suffer as a result of the incompetence of the medical staff
3. He provides his Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care) and a self-authored statement.
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. Having 4 years of prior service, on 24 November 1964, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army.
3. He provided a Standard Form 600 that shows he was evaluated at a medical facility on 29 October 1966 due to an aircraft accident and complaints of a bruised back.
4. His DA Form 20 shows in:
* item 31 (Foreign Service) - he served in Vietnam from 4 August 1966 to 29 July 1967
* item 38 (Record of Assignments) no record of being hospitalized in a patient status at any time
* item 40 (Wounds) no entries
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no award of the Purple Heart
5. His service record does not contain orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Vietnam Casualty Roster does not list his name.
6. He was honorably released from active duty on 25 November 1969. Item 24 of his DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
7. He provided a self-authored statement in support of his claim. He cited his military history and described the events that contributed to his injuries. After being released from their Recon mission, they refueled the aircraft. During takeoff, the helicopter hit the top of a tree stump and the propellers hit the ground. He was bounced around and this caused his back and right shoulder blade to be bruised. He was examined by the company flight doctor and told the x-ray machine was broken. He was grounded for 3 weeks with no special instructions other than light duty.
8. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
9. 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 contends he was in a helicopter crash on 29 October 1969 and sustained bruises to his back and shoulder.
2. However, no medical documentation is available which shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action. By his own admission, his injuries were the result of an accident. His name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster.
3. In accordance with the regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and the treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
4. In the absence of evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is an insufficient basis 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) AR20110009546
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110009546
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