IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 March 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110017607
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. The applicant states:
* he should have been awarded the Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds received in 1969
* they were under fire and he was wounded returning fire
* a medic pulled the shrapnel out of his stomach and didn't fill out the necessary paperwork
* as of today, his scars on his stomach have faded as it has been 40 years or so
3. The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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 18 March 1969. He served as an infantryman in Vietnam from 18 August 1969 to
17 August 1970. On 18 January 1971, he was released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation.
3. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
5. 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.
6. On 12 January 1971, he underwent a separation physical examination which makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Items 31 (Abdomen and Viscera) and 39 (Identifying Body Marks, Scars, Tattoos) of his Standard Form (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 12 January 1971, shows he was rated normal.
7. 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.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. He claims he received shrapnel wounds to his stomach in Vietnam in 1969 and his scars have since faded.
2. His SF 88, dated 12 January 1971, makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. In addition, no scars were noted on this form.
3. 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
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. 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.
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) AR20110017607
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110017607
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