IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  5 April 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110019843 


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 wounded in Vietnam on 8 November 1966 during combat with the enemy but he never received the Purple Heart.  

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) and two statements.

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's records show he enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 September 1965 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).  He served in Vietnam from 2 October 1966 to 26 September 1967 while assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 28 Infantry Regiment.

3.  On 2 July 1968, he was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.  He completed 2 years, 9 months, and 3 days of creditable active service.

4.  There are no orders in his records showing award of the Purple Heart.

5.  Item 24 of his DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) contains no entries and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.

7.  His medical records are not available for review with this case.

8.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

9.  A review of The Adjutant General's Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing failed to show his name as a casualty.

10.  The applicant provides:

	a.  A statement, dated 5 April 2011, wherein his company commander at the time stated his company was involved in combat with enemy forces in Vietnam on 8 November 1966.  During the action the applicant was wounded by enemy fire.

	b.  A statement, dated 18 April 2011, wherein a fellow unit member at the time stated the company experienced a heavy enemy attack on 8 November 1966 and he witnessed a heavy mortar attack that caused shrapnel to become imbedded in the right leg of the applicant.  In the heat of battle, the applicant fought on.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that 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 criteria for the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that a Soldier received a wound/injury as a result of hostile action, the wound/injury must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The statements provided by the applicant's former commanding officer and a former member of his unit are noted.  However, they are based on memory of an event that occurred over 45 years ago and are not supported with evidence such as an operation order, an after action report, or a daily journal that confirms these statements.  Additionally, the presence of a treatment record is an essential component for award of the Purple Heart.  

3.  His record is void of orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or injured as a result of combat.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster, his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat-related wound, and his medical records are not available for review with this case.

4.  Notwithstanding the applicant's contention and the authors' sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base 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)                                         AR20110019843



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110019843



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