IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 March 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110017985
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 (PH).
2. The applicant states he received an indirect fire shrapnel injury while serving in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). He states he was treated by unit medical corpsmen and returned to duty without being awarded the PH.
3. The applicant provides two third-party statements in support of his request.
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
10 September 1969. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 16F (Light Artillery Crewmember).
3. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in the RVN from 13 August 1970 to 9 August 1971. Item 40 (Wounds) is blank and the PH is not included in the list of awards contained in item 41 (Awards and Decorations). Item 48 (Date of Audit) shows the applicant last audited the
DA Form 20 on 11 June 1970.
4. The applicants Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) is void of orders or documents indicating he was wounded in action in the RVN. It is also void of medical treatment records indicating he was ever treated for a combat-related wound.
5. On 13 August 1971, the applicant was honorably released from active duty, in the rank/grade of specialist four (SP4)/E-4, after completing 1 year, 11 months, and 4 days of total active service. The PH is not included in the list of earned awards on the DD Form 214 issued to him at the time.
6. The applicant provides two third-party statements from individuals who indicate they witnessed an explosion in March 1971 in the RVN that resulted in the applicant receiving a shrapnel injury to his back for which he was treated by unit medical personnel. Neither individual confirms the explosion was the result of or caused by enemy action.
7. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing fails to show the applicant's name as a casualty.
8. 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 orders for the PH pertaining to the applicant.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy. Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on the PH. It states the PH is awarded to members wounded in action. It also states in order to award the PH there must be evidence of the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's request to add the PH to his DD Form 214 has been carefully considered. However, there is insufficient evidence to support this claim.
2. By regulation, in order to support award of the PH the member must have been wounded in action and there must be evidence the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and this medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. Although the applicant provides witness statements confirming he received a shrapnel injury, neither account confirms the explosion that resulted in his receiving the shrapnel injury was a direct result of or caused by enemy action. Furthermore, there are no medical treatment records confirming treatment for a combat-related wound, or orders authorizing and announcing award of the PH in the MPRJ. Lastly, item 40 of the applicants DA Form 20 is blank, which indicates he was never wounded in action, and the PH is not included in the list of earned awards in item 41.
4. Absent any evidence of record confirming the injury the applicant received was a direct result of or caused by enemy action, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief. Therefore, it would not be appropriate or serve the interest of all those who served in the RVN and who faced similar circumstances to award the applicant the PH at this late date.
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.
_______________________
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) AR20110017985
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110017985
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