IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 November 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110011113
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. He states he was wounded in the left leg on 9 July 1967 while in combat. He explains that he was on duty as a Military Police (MP) inside of a marketplace when a command-detonated claymore mine exploded. He adds that he was treated at the 3rd Field Medical Battalion and returned to duty. He states that other members of his unit were also injured.
3. He provides the following:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* Incomplete copy of a Headquarters, 716th MP Battalion Operational Report, dated 13 August 1967
* Consultation/Referral Request, dated 23 April 2008
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's military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army on
3 September 1964. He served in Vietnam from 9 November 1966 to 28 August 1967. He was honorably released from active duty on 28 August 1967.
3. The Operational Report states the following:
There were no major terrorist activities to disrupt normal police operations during this period; however, on 9 July 1967, a command-detonated claymore mine was exploded across the street from the Capitol and St George Bachelor Enlisted Quarters Complex which houses Companies A, B, and C, 52nd Infantry, 716th MP Battalion. A total of 8 enlisted members (EM) sustained minor injuries and were returned to duty. One EM sustained serious injuries and was evacuated to Japan in fair condition.
4. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
5. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank. Additionally, there is no documentation in the available record that shows he sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.
6. 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.
7. The consultation/referral report, dated April 2008, shows the applicant was tentatively diagnosed with "chronic left knee injury from shrapnel in Vietnam."
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Although the applicant provided an incomplete copy of a Headquarters, 716th MP Battalion Operational Report that states a command-detonated claymore mine exploded and caused minor injuries to 8 enlisted members and one enlisted member sustained serious injuries, there is no evidence that he was one of those enlisted members.
2. Additionally, the consultation/referral request tentatively diagnosed him with chronic left knee injury from shrapnel in Vietnam. However, there are no medical records available showing he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam.
3. More importantly, from the description of the incident it does not appear the detonation was the result of enemy action or with the intent of causing damage to the enemy but was rather an accident. Therefore, there is an insufficient basis for correcting his records to show award of the Purple Heart
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant's request should be denied.
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) AR20110011113
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110011113
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