IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  8 January 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120008090 


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 correction of his records as follows:

* correction of his records to show the name of his school as Lincoln High School instead of Macon High School
* correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show the Purple Heart
* correction of his Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) to show his scar was in the lower right vice left leg

2.  The applicant states the information on his records is in error.  Two errors occurred stateside while the other occurred in Vietnam.  

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214, dated 12 January 1972
* Front page of his Standard Form 88, dated 3 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 U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) under the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) on 4 June 1969.  His enlistment physical is not available for review with this case.

3.  He provides the front page of a Standard Form 88, dated 3 June 1969, that shows he underwent an enlistment physical at Fort Jackson, SC, and listed the entry "scar lower left (L) leg" as an answer to item 39 (Identifying Body Marks, Scars, Tattoos.)

4.  He was discharged from the DEP and subsequently enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 July 1969.  In connection with this enlistment, he completed a DD Form 398 (Statement of Personal History) wherein he listed his education at Lincoln High School from August 1965 to May 1969.  

5.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 76Y (Unit Supply Specialist).  He served in Vietnam from 4 December 1969 to          10 November 1970.  He was assigned to the 360th Transportation Company.

6.  He was honorably released from active duty on 12 January 1972 and he was transferred to the USAR Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

7.  There is nothing in several typical sources that show he was wounded in action or awarded the Purple Heart:

* Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 does not reflect a combat injury
* Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of this form does not list the Purple Heart
* His medical records are not available for review 
* His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing
* There are no general orders in his record that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart
* 
A review of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant
* His records do not contain a notification, such as a Western Union Telegram, notifying his next of kin of a combat injury

8.  Item 32 (Civilian Education) of his DA Form 20 lists the name and location of the school he attended as "Macon High School, Sumter, SC." 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.  It 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 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.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Army Military Human Resource Record Management) prescribes the policies and mandated operating tasks for the Military Personnel Information Management/Records Program of the Military Personnel System.  The Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) is an automated record of personnel management qualifications and provides some duplication, in the form of data, of information recorded in the Soldier's Army Military Human Resource Record.  The ERB is created, maintained, and updated while the Soldier is on active duty.  Upon separation from active duty, the ERB is no longer maintained or updated.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  With respect to the Purple Heart:

	a.  The criteria for the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

	b.  The applicant's service record and ADCARS is void of any orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or injured as a result of combat.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.  His available service medical records do not reflect a combat injury.

	c.  Notwithstanding the applicant's contention and sincerity, in the absence of documentation that 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.

2.  With respect to updating the entry regarding his scar:

	a.  Medical records reflect the observations and opinions of medical professionals at the time they were created.  Alteration of a diagnosis in those records after the fact may lead to fundamental questions about the veracity of the records in this case and in general.  For these reasons, it would not be proper to change any of the medical documents the applicant provides which would, in effect, alter a diagnosis in the applicant's medical records.  

	b.  The Army maintains an orderly system in which a physician makes certain observations and diagnoses and records them faithfully in the medical records at the time.  It would take independent and corroborating evidence to alter a diagnosis or medical observation.  The applicant failed to provide the necessary evidence or proof to corroborate what he contends is incorrect on his medical record.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary it is presumed the medical document he provides reflects an observation by competent military medical authorities and this medical record was properly annotated.

3.  The DA Form 20 and the DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) which superseded the DA Form 20 were locally-maintained forms with input from various manual and automated sources while the member was on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.  These forms were no longer updated after the member's separation.  If the member reenters the Army, a new form known as the Enlisted Record Brief is created. 

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)                                         AR20120008090





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120008090



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