IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 4 September 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120003742
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 discharged from the Army at the U.S. Army Personnel Center in Oakland, CA, upon his return from Vietnam. This was done before the award of the Purple Heart was added to his records.
3. The applicant provides:
* copies of his service medical records
* map of Vietnam
* discharge orders from the U.S. Army Reserve
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 in the Regular Army on 26 July 1968 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). He served in Vietnam from on or about 6 March 1969 to on or about 5 March 1970. He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.
3. He was honorably released from active duty on 5 March 1970 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. His DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart.
4. Nothing in five typical sources confirm he was wounded in action and/or treated for a combat injury/wound:
* Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not reflect a combat wound or injury
* Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
* His records do not contain general orders authorizing him award of the Purple Heart
* His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster
* 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 and maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command - failed to reveal Purple Heart orders for him
5. He submitted a map of Vietnam with one area circled in green and wrote the word "sniper and the number of kills." He also submitted multiple service medical records (some of which have no name or identification made on the medical form) that show:
* 8 September 1969, suffered fragment wound to left arm on 28 June 1969; removal of fragment
* 18 October 1969, battalion aid station, Vietnam, X-rays for previous fragment wound, no fragment seen on X-ray
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and 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 the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
2. The applicant's service record is void of any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of combat. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster, and his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat related wound. Additionally, the medical records he provides, which are necessary to confirm that treatment was required, neither reflect his name nor the cause of the fragment wound.
3. Notwithstanding the applicant's contention and his 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
________ ________ ________ 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.
_______ _ _______ ___
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) AR20120003742
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120003742
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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