IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 7 August 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120002370
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 received shell fragment wounds to his right leg, right hand, right arm, and left leg on 18 August 1966, but was not awarded the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides:
* his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214)
* a self-authored letter to his parents describing his wounds and care
* a newspaper article reporting his wounds
* a Standard Form (SF) 89 (Report of Medical History), dated 29 August 1967
* an SF 513 (Clinical Record Consultation Sheet), dated 29 August 1967
* a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-6754 (Increased Disability Compensation), undated
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's service medical and dental records are believed to be on permanent loan to VA and are not available for review.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on
30 November 1965. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 63H (Automotive Repairman). He served in Vietnam from 18 June 1966 through 17 June 1967.
4. The SF 89 and SF 513 provided by the applicant both record a history of shrapnel wounds he sustained on 18 August 1966.
5. Item 40 of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he received multiple fragment wounds to his right hand, both arms, chest, and right leg on 18 August 1966 as a result of grenades.
6. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 5 September 1967 by reason of school release. He completed 1 year, 9 months, and 6 days of total active service. The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time does not show award of the Purple.
7. The applicant was issued a DD Form 215 on 20 June 2009 that added additional awards he was entitled to. However, the additional awards did not include the Purple Heart.
8. An undated VA Form 21-6754 shows an increase in his VA disability compensation for wounds to his left elbow, right hand, arm, and leg.
9. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.
10. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
11. Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Decorations) provided that the Purple Heart was awarded for a wound sustained while in action against the enemy or as a result of hostile action.
12. Army Regulation 600-200, chapter 9 of the version in effect at the time, stated that a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20. This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be placed in item 40.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
Item 40 of the applicant's DA Form 20 shows he was wounded on 18 August 1966 as a result of grenades. The available medical documents also show he was treated for the same wounds. Therefore, it would be appropriate at this time to award him the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of hostile action on 18 August 1966 and correcting his DD Form 214 to show this award.
BOARD VOTE:
___X ___ ___X____ ___X ___ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by
awarding him Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 18 August 1966 and correcting his DD Form 214 to show this award.
__________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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