IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 19 January 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110013739
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 a second award of the Purple Heart and correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) accordingly.
2. The applicant states:
* He was wounded in action twice in 1967 during separate combat operations in Vietnam
* It is documented in his service records that he was wounded twice
* He was given the Purple Heart for his first injuries but not for the second combat injuries
3. The applicant provides no documentary evidence.
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 29 March 1966. He served as a medical specialist and ward specialist in Vietnam from
13 December 1966 to 5 December 1967. On 28 March 1968, he was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service. He was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation. He completed 2 years of total active service.
3. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows, among other awards, one award of the Purple Heart.
4. General Orders Number 21, issued by Headquarters, 93rd Evacuation Hospital, dated 25 January 1967, awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Vietnam on 24 January 1967.
5. Item 15 (Previous Awards (Purple Heart and Higher)) of his USARV Form 157-R (Recommendation for Decoration for Valor or Merit), dated 6 November 1967, shows he received the Purple Heart in January 1967. Item 18 (Narrative Description) of this form states "
he was assigned as a combat medical corpsman, and while performing his duties, he was wounded on two separate occasions by hostile fire
."
6. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was injured (fragment wounds to chest, arm, and legs) on
24 January 1967. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) shows one award of the Purple Heart. The Vietnam casualty listing only shows he was wounded in action on 24 January 1967.
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. There are no orders in the applicant's available record that show the applicant was recommended for or awarded a second award of the Purple Heart.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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 wounded on two separate occasions in Vietnam.
2. General orders awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Vietnam on 24 January 1967 in Vietnam which is properly reflected on his
DD Form 214.
3. There are no orders for a second award of the Purple Heart in the available records. The preponderance of evidence in this case shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action on 24 January 1967. In the absence of orders officially awarding him a second award of the Purple Heart or any other official corroborating evidence, the entry on his USARV Form 157-R which states he was wounded on two separate occasions by hostile fire is not insufficient in itself as a basis for awarding him a second award of the Purple Heart or to correct his DD Form 214 to show a second award of the Purple Heart.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
5. The applicant and all others concerned should know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
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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