IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 April 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110018847 


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 assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 
1st Battalion, 30th Artillery, LZ (Landing Zone) English, Bong Son, Republic of Vietnam
* he worked in the "commo" (communications) unit, a secured area that was fully surrounded by a barbed-wire fence
* his unit would receive incoming attacks on a regular basis
* he and other Soldiers would leave their area and run to an underground bunker and remain there until the incoming stopped
* during an attack in the fall of 1967, he was running out of the unit and caught his right arm in a barbed-wire gate which tore a 2 inch cut across it
* he went to the underground bunker and remained there until the incoming stopped
* he went to the 15th Medical Battalion, Forward Detachment, for treatment
* a nurse placed a Purple Heart on the right side of his pillow while he was lying on the bed for treatment
* he was scared and told her to take the Purple Heart away and that all he wanted to do was go home alive
* he went on with his life and tried to put Vietnam out of his mind and live a normal life, to no avail
* he requested copies of his medical records, but personnel at the National Personnel Records Center were unable to locate any medical records of him being in a hospital
* he was putting together information about his time in Vietnam and plans to pass it on to other family members since many have asked

3.  The applicant provides:

* self-authored statements
* his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 5 July 1968

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 applicant’s 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 applicant’s 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 in the Army of the United States on 24 August 1966.  He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 05C (Radio Teletype Operator).  The highest rank/grade he attained while on active duty was sergeant (SGT)/E-5.

3.  The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

	a.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in USARPAC (U.S. Army Pacific) – Vietnam from 4 July 1967 through 3 July 1968.

	b.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 30th Artillery while in the Republic of Vietnam; it does not show he was ever in a patient status.

	c.  Item 40 (Wounds) no entry (blank).


	d.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for the Purple Heart.

4.  On 5 July 1968, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation.  He completed 1 year, 10 months, and 12 days of total active service.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the DD Form 214 he was issued at the time does not show the Purple Heart.

5.  His record 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 Awards and Decorations 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 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 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 request for award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered.

2.  The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

3.  Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of official documentary evidence such as operation orders, morning reports, after action reports, official orders to corroborate the events that led to his injury, or additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and 


treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him the Purple Heart in this case.

4.  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.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110018847



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110018847



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