IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 19 July 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120006652
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 (PH) for an injury received while on active duty.
2. The applicant states he has shrapnel in his left arm from a firefight.
3. The applicant provides:
* A letter to a staff member of Senator Wellstones office
* A letter from Senator Wellstones office
* A copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* A copy of his U.S. Government Motor Vehicle Operators Identification Card
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 2 January 1968 and was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). He was discharged on 24 January 1969.
3. The DD Form 214 shows he earned the following awards during this period of active duty service:
* National Defense Service Medal (NDSM)
* Vietnam Service Medal (VSM)
* Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB)
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
4. The applicants Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) is void of orders or documents indicating he was wounded in action in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). It is also void of medical treatment records indicating he was ever treated for a combat-related wound. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicants DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank, and the PH is not included in the list of earned awards in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
5. During the processing of this case, a staff member of the Board reviewed the
Department of the Army (DA) Vietnam Casualty Roster. The applicant's name was not included on the roster.
6. 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 PH pertaining to the applicant.
7. The applicant provides a letter to his Senators staff member explaining his rationale for award of the PH and that the Senators letter advised him to direct his questions to a member of his staff.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy. Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on the PH. It states the PH is awarded to members wounded in action. It also states in order to award the PH there must be evidence of the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's request to be awarded the PH based on wounds received while on active duty has been carefully considered. However, there is insufficient evidence to support this claim.
2. By regulation, in order to support award of the PH the member must have been wounded in action and there must be evidence the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and this medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. Item 40 of the applicants DA Form 20 is blank. Further, there are no documents in the applicant's MPRJ that indicate he was treated for a combat-related wound by medical personnel during his tour in the RVN.
4. Absent any evidence confirming the applicant was wounded in action while serving in the RVN, it would not be appropriate to award the applicant the PH.
5. The applicant and all others concerned should know this action related to award of the PH in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
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) AR20120006652
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120006652
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