IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 31 January 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110015100
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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show two awards of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states the above awards were inadvertently left off of his
DD Form 214 by administrative personnel. He contends that he earned the awards and they should be listed on his DD Form 214.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214, service medical records, DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), and orders for the Bronze Star Medal.
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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 July 1968 and upon completion of initial entry training he was awarded military occupational specialty 67V (Scout Helicopter Repairman).
3. Item 31 (Foreign Service) of his DA Form 20 shows he served in Vietnam from 18 December 1968 to 17 October 1969. Item 40 (Wounds) 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) that indicates he was ever recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart or that he was treated for a combat-related wound. He is not listed in the RVN casualty roster.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 28 July 1971. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Commendations Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not include the Purple Heart.
6. 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
7. He provided service medical records that show he was treated on 9 and
14 July 1969 for fragments to the corner of his eye due to gun powder burns which he sustained when his M-60 machinegun jammed and exploded. These service medical records do not indicate the injuries were sustained as a result of hostile action. He also provided orders for the Bronze Star Medal which were revoked by Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division General Orders Number 3665, dated 21 April 1969.
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 is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show two awards of the Purple Heart has been carefully considered.
2. His DA Form 20 contains no entries indicating he was wounded in action and there is no evidence in his OMPF that indicates he was ever recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart or that he was treated for a combat-related wound. His name is not listed in the Vietnam casualty roster. The regulation requires that substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action. In the absence of such evidence, the service medical records provided failed to confirm he was treated for wounds sustained as a result of a hostile attack. Therefore, the evidence is insufficient to correct his record to show award of the Purple Heart.
3. Based on the foregoing, there is no basis to grant the 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) AR20110015100
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110015100
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