IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 11 December 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120009989
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 two awards of the Purple Heart.
2. He states:
* there is only one Purple Heart award listed on his DD Form 214, but he received two Purple Hearts while he served in Vietnam
* he believes his DD Form 214 should reflect the correct number of Purple Hearts that he earned
3. He provides his DD Form 214 and two Purple Heart Certificates.
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 6 January 1971 for a period of three years. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (light weapons infantryman).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
* item 31 (Foreign Service), he served in Vietnam from 21 September 1971 through 23 May 1972
* item 38 (Record of Assignments), no entry showing he was in a patient status
* item 40 (Wounds), he sustained multiple fragment wounds in his left shoulder, groin region, and left calf on 29 November 1971
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations), he was awarded one award of the Purple Heart by General Orders Number 49, issued by Headquarters,
95th Evacuation Hospital, dated in 1971
4. The applicant's service record does not include orders and he did not provide any orders that show he was awarded a second award of the Purple Heart. There is also no medical documentation that shows he was wounded a second time as a result of hostile action.
5. On 18 December 1973, the applicant was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service. He was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining service obligation. He completed 2 years, 11 months, and 13 days of total active service.
6. The applicant provides:
a. his DD Form 214 for the period ending 18 December 1973 that shows he was awarded one award of the Purple Heart.
b. a Purple Heart Certificate, dated 29 October 1971, that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Vietnam; however, it does not show the date of the event for which the award was being made.
c. a Purple Heart Certificate, dated 13 January 1975, that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 29 November 1971.
7. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty at any time.
8. 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.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while 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 received two awards of the Purple Heart, but his DD Form 214 reflects only one award of the Purple Heart.
2. He sustained multiple fragment wounds in his left shoulder, groin region, and left calf on 29 November 1971 as reflected on his DA Form 20. This form also shows he was awarded one award of the Purple Heart by general orders dated in 1971.
3. Although he provided two Purple Heart Certificates, his record is void of orders and medical documentation that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action on two separate occasions in Vietnam.
4. In view of the foregoing, 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 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) AR20120009989
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120009989
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