IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 17 May 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110022004
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 for an injury he sustained during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
2. The applicant states:
* during his service in the Republic of Vietnam, he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 214th Aviation Battalion in Vinh Lanh
* in the Spring of 1970, he injured his left shoulder and head in a helicopter crash in which the back of his helmet cracked and he had a concussion, a head injury, and a left shoulder injury
* at the time, he did not apply for the Purple Heart because of the devastating injuries and death his fellow Soldiers were sustaining elsewhere in Vietnam he felt lucky to have survived the crash
* he now realizes he is deserving of the Purple Heart - he was badly injured during his service to the Nation and the Purple Heart would commemorate his commitment to his Country at that time and now
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 13 January 1969. He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialties (MOS) 67N (UH-1Helicopter Repairer) and 67W (Aircraft Quality Control Supervisor). The highest rank/grade he attained during his period of military service was specialist four (SP4)/E-4.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) contains the following entries:
* Item 31 (Foreign Service) shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 9 July 1969 to on or about 17 August 1970
* Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows he was assigned to HHC, 214th Aviation Battalion (Combat) during his service in the Republic of Vietnam
* Item 40 (Wounds) is blank, indicating the absence of any documented wounds during his period of military service
* Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not affirm that he was awarded the Purple Heart during his period of military service
4. On 19 August 1970, he was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. The DD Form 214 he was issued shows he was credited with the completion of 1 year, 7 months, and 7 days of net service during this period of active duty, including 1 year, 1 month, and 11 days of foreign service in the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) theater of operations. His DD Form 214 does not indicate he was awarded the Purple Heart.
5. His available record does not contain orders for the Purple Heart; nor does it contain any documentation indicating he was treated for wounds or injuries he sustained during his service in the Republic of Vietnam. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
6. 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 pertaining to the applicant for the Purple Heart.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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:
Neither the applicants available record nor the Vietnam casualty roster provide any evidence he was wounded during his period of service in the Republic of Vietnam. There is also no evidence he received any wounds as a result of hostile action that required treatment by medical personnel, or that the resulting medical treatment was made a matter of official record. Absent evidence to the contrary, there is an insufficient basis to grant the requested relief 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) AR20100015543
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110022004
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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