BOARD DATE: 18 January 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110013491
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 the Purple Heart be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 26 March 1970. He also wants this DD Form 214 corrected to show his projectionist license.
2. The applicant states:
* On 5 May 1968 he was wounded in his left calf during a mortar attack in Vietnam
* He was treated by a medic and received 15 stitches in his leg
* He was presented the Purple Heart by his commanding officer
* His military occupational specialty (MOS) was changed
* He was in the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve
3. The applicant provides:
* A map of Vietnam
* DD Forms 214 for the periods ending 4 July 1964 and 26 March 1970
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 ordered to active duty from the Army National Guard on
19 January 1964 for training in MOS 192.00 (cannoneer). He was released from active duty on 4 July 1964.
3. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 27 March 1967 for a period of 3 years. He completed his training and was awarded MOS 71B (clerk typist) and later awarded MOS 71H (personnel specialist). He served as a clerk typist in Vietnam from 28 March 1968 to 27 March 1969. On 26 March 1970, he was honorably discharged.
4. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 26 March 1970 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
5. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
6. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show the Purple Heart and item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
7. A 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. No evidence shows he earned a projectionist license.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, 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 military personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
10. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the DD Form 214. There is no provision to enter a license on the DD Form 214.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he received a wound to his lower left leg during a mortar attack in May 1968 in Vietnam and he was treated by a medic.
2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires:
* a wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by military medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
* official orders awarding the decoration
3. There is no evidence of record and the applicant did not provide any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.
4. He wants his DD Form 214 for the period ending 26 March 1970 to show his projectionist license. However, there is no evidence to show he received a projectionist license, and there are no provisions to show such a license on the DD Form 214.
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) AR20110013491
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110013491
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