BOARD DATE: 17 May 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110023289
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, in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his previous award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states his Purple Heart was lost.
3. The applicant provides no additional evidence 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 enlisted into the Regular Army on 3 February 1966. He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 62E (Heavy Construction Equipment Operator). 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 Thailand from on or about 1 July 1966 to on or about 16 June 1967
* Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows he was assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), in a patient status, on 27 June 1967
* Item 40 (Wounds) is blank, indicating the absence of any documented wounds during his period of military service
4. On 31 January 1969, 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 2 years, 11 months, and 28 days of net service during this period of active duty, including 11 months and 16 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 served in the Republic of Vietnam, or that he was treated for wounds or injuries he sustained during his service in 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 (Military Awards) 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:
1. The applicant requests correction of his DD Form 214 to show his previous award of the Purple Heart.
2. His record indicates he was assigned to WRAMC, in a patient status, immediately following his service in the Republic of Thailand. However, his record does not contain information related to the cause, type, severity, or origin of his wounds or injuries. Furthermore, his record does not indicate whether his wounds or injuries resulted from hostile action, as service in the Republic of Vietnam cannot be substantiated.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient basis to grant 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) AR20110023289
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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