IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 November 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120009180
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 DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he was wounded while in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart, but it was never added to his records.
3. The applicant provides three Standard Forms 502 (Clinical Record Narrative Summary) and two DD Forms 481 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet).
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's records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 9 August 1968 and he held military occupational specialty 55B (Ammunition Storage Specialist). He was assigned to the 630th Ordnance Company, Vietnam, from 18 April to 26 August 1969. On 27 August 1969, he was assigned to the 188th Ordnance Company, Vietnam.
3. The applicant provides a Clinical Record Cover Sheet, dated 10 November 1969, that shows he was injured in Vietnam on 6 November 1969 when he was in a truck accident. He was diagnosed with a mild chest contusion, emesis (vomiting) due to anxiety, and a sprain of his right medial collateral ligament (MCL).
4. On 10 November 1969, he was admitted to the 6th Convalescent Center, Vietnam. He was subsequently medically evacuated from Vietnam and he was admitted to the 249th General Hospital, Japan, on 6 December 1969.
5. On 27 December 1969, he was assigned to the Army hospital at Fort Campbell, KY. On 13 January 1970, he was released from the hospital and returned to duty.
6. He was honorably released from active duty on 29 January 1970 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. He completed 1 year, 8 months, and 21 days of net active service.
7. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart. His records are void of orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
8. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
9. A review of the Adjutant General's Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing failed to show his name as a casualty.
10. 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 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
11. The applicant provides several documents that show he was treated for a sprain of his right MCL in Vietnam when he was thrown from a truck during a vehicle accident on 6 November 1969. However, none of these documents indicated his injury was incurred as the result of hostile action.
12. 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 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 award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that a Soldier received a wound/injury as the result of hostile action, the wound/injury required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
2. While the available medical records show the applicant received a mild chest contusion and a sprain of his right MCL in Vietnam, these records also show the injuries were caused when he fell from a truck during a vehicle accident. His records do not contain any evidence and he has not provided any evidence that shows these injuries were the result of hostile action.
3. His records are void of documentation/evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of combat. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing, his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat-related wound, and his records do not contain orders for the Purple Heart.
4. Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's 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 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) AR20120009180
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120009180
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