BOARD DATE: 8 January 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120010546
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.
2. The applicant states:
* Documents were lost or destroyed during the Vietnam war
* On or about 6 June 1968, during a rocket attack in Vietnam he dove for cover into a bunker and his left hand struck something metallic causing a wound
* He was also bitten by an unknown animal on the same hand causing another wound
* His commanding officer ordered him to the first aid station for treatment
* They cleansed and dressed the wounds and he returned to duty
* Later that day he was told he needed to begin a 14-day treatment for rabies
3. The applicant provides:
* Letter of commendation
* Citation for the Air Medal
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 1 September 1968
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
21 September 1965. He completed his training and was awarded military occupational specialty 13E (field artillery operations and intelligence assistant). On 24 October 1966, he was honorably discharged to accept a commission. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on 25 October 1966 in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) and he was ordered to active duty. He served in Vietnam from 18 November 1967 to 29 August 1968. On 1 September 1968, he was honorably released from active duty in the rank of first lieutenant and transferred to the USAR.
3. His DD Form 214 for the period ending 1 September 1968 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
5. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
6. A 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he was injured in Vietnam on or about 6 June 1968 during a rocket attack and his wounds were treated at the first aid station.
2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires:
* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
3. There is no evidence in the available record that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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) AR20120010546
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120010546
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