BOARD DATE:	 30 August 2012 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120004385


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, award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states:

* he was wounded while in the Republic of Vietnam, while assigned to Company E, 26th Engineer Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal)
* he was on temporary duty with a transportation company from Duc Pho in June 1969
* he was in the follow truck in a convoy that hit a land mine – he received shrapnel in his right leg and right side
* the medic he went to was not in his unit and there was no casualty notification regarding the incident
* he does not remember the names of the others who were wounded during the incident
* there is no financial benefit to him, as he has been determined to be     100 percent disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
* as a matter of principle, he was wounded and should be awarded the Purple Heart

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* a hand-written personal statement to the Board
* a letter from his mother
* copies of two letters he wrote home during his service in the Republic of Vietnam
* eight photographs of vehicles and men in the Republic of Vietnam
* newspaper article titled "Ambush Valley is a Bad Trip," from The Observer, dated 13 June 1969

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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 5 August 1968.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 12A (Pioneer).  The highest rank/grade he attained during his period of military service was specialist four (SP4)/E-4.

3.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 8 March 1969 to on or about 22 October 1970.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows that during this period of service he was assigned to Company E, 26th Engineer Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal).

4.  On 13 August 1971, 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 29 days of net active service during this period, including 1 year, 7 months, and 15 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.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank, indicating the absence of any documented wounds during his period of military service.  His available personnel 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 Vietnam.  His medical record is not available for review.

6.  His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.

7.  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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

8.  He provides:

* a hand-written personal statement to the Board, in which he details the circumstances that occurred during his service in the Republic of Vietnam, for which he feels he should be awarded the Purple Heart
* a letter from his mother, in which she relates a letter she received from her son during his service in the Republic of Vietnam, in which he described a shrapnel wound he received while on convoy operations
* copies of two letters he wrote home during his service in the Republic of Vietnam, in which he describes a shrapnel wound he received while on convoy operations in the Republic of Vietnam
* eight photographs of vehicles and men in the Republic of Vietnam
* newspaper article titled "Ambush Valley is a Bad Trip," from The Observer, dated 13 June 1969

9.  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 contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart; however, neither his available record nor the Vietnam casualty roster provides any evidence that shows he was wounded during his period of service in the Republic of Vietnam.  

2.  Additionally, there is 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.  
3.  Absent evidence to the contrary, such as copies of morning reports or witness statements, the letters are an insufficient evidentiary basis on which to grant the requested relief.

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)                                         AR20120004385



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