BOARD DATE: 5 April 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110018703
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 was treated at the base dispensary at An Khe, Republic of Vietnam, for an injury that occurred when the enemy attacked the helicopters. He further states a noncommissioned officer told him he would receive the Purple Heart; however, after 9 months, he was transferred to another company.
3. The applicant provides a statement from a former Soldier.
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 14 November 1968. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 68F (Aircraft Electrician). The highest rank/grade he attained while serving on active duty was specialist five (SP5)/E-5. He served in the Republic of Vietnam from
8 July 1969 to 3 July 1970.
3. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
4. On 2 November 1971, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation. He completed
2 years, 11 months, and 26 days of total active service. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he was issued at the time does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. The applicant's official military personnel file (OMPF) contains no medical records showing he was wounded in action or treated for a wound received as a result of enemy action. His OMPF also does not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
6. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty
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. The applicant provides a statement from a former Soldier who states the applicant received injuries that required medical attention after the Vietcong attacked their company in An Khe. He further states he witnessed the applicant in a hangar bleeding from his leg prior to being taken to the clinic.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy. Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on the Purple Heart. It states the Purple Heart is awarded to members wounded in action and states that in order
to award the Purple Heart, there must be evidence the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound required treatment by military medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered.
2. Notwithstanding the applicants witness statement, in order to support award of the Purple Heart 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 also required medical treatment by military medical personnel and this medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. The applicant's service in the Republic of Vietnam and his sincerity is not in question. However, his record contains no medical treatment records or other documentation which confirm he was wounded as a result of enemy action or treated for a combat-related wound or injury while serving in the Republic of Vietnam. The regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been met; therefore, it would not be appropriate to award the applicant the Purple Heart in this case.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's 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.
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