BOARD DATE:	  29 January 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120011257 


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 that while serving in Vietnam assigned to Battery B, 6th Battalion, 29th Artillery, his unit came under an intense mortar attack by hostile fire on 26 November 1967.  In that attack, his battery suffered about 40 percent casualties and he was wounded in both hands.  The unit medic was overwhelmed and picked shrapnel fragments out of his (the applicant's) hands.  He was submitted for the Purple Heart, but he never received it and he believes the medic who treated his wounds misplaced or lost the proper paperwork.

3.  The applicant provides:

* three statements of support
* a compact disc from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Salem, VA, Radiology Department
* a radiology report
* an article titled, "A Field Artillery Story"

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 8 September 1966 and he held military occupational specialty 13A (Field Artillery Basic).

3.  He served in Vietnam as follows:

* 14 February-6 October 1967, assigned to Battery C, 6th Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment
* 7 October 1967-3 February 1968, assigned to Battery B, 6th Battalion, 29th Artillery Regiment

4.  He was honorably released from active duty on 6 September 1968 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training).  He completed 1 year, 11 months, and 29 days of net active service.

5.  The DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he was issued at the time of his release from active duty does not show award of the Purple Heart.  His records are void of orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show award of the Purple Heart.

7.  His records contain a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), dated 1 June 2012, which added several awards to his DD Form 214 relating to his service in Vietnam.  The DD Form 215 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

8.  His service medical records are not available for review with this case and there is no evidence in his available record that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action while serving in Vietnam.

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:

	a.  Three statements of support, dated between 5 November 2010 and 1 June 2012, wherein three former Soldiers state they served with the applicant in Vietnam on 26 November 1967 when their battery came under enemy attack and the applicant was wounded in both hands by enemy shrapnel.

	b.  A radiology report, dated 26 October 2011, wherein a radiologist with the VA Medical Center, Salem, VA, states, in part, "There is mild deformity of the right fourth metacarpal from previous fracture.  Metallic frontal fragment is seen at that same location.  The deformity has resulted in slight shortening of the fourth metacarpal.  On the left there are two shrapnel fragments seen, but no fracture."

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 the 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.  The statements provided by three of the applicant's former unit members are noted.  However, they are based on the memory of an incident that occurred on a specific day over 45 years ago and are not supported with evidence such as an operation order, an after action report, or a daily journal that confirms these statements.  Additionally, the presence of a treatment record is an essential component for award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Although the applicant may have received shrapnel fragments in both of his hands, there is no evidence that shows these wounds were incurred during his service in the Army or that they were incurred in Vietnam as the result of enemy action.

4.  His record is void of 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 roster, his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat-related wound, and his medical records are not available for review with this case.

5.  Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity or the sincerity of his former unit members, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis upon which to award the applicant the Purple Heart in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____X____  ___X__  ____X____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know this action 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.



      ___________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)                                         AR20120011984



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120011257



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