BOARD DATE: 17 January 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120014656
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. He states:
* he was wounded when he was hit by shrapnel while serving in Vietnam
* Lieutenant J____ J____ indicated he should have been awarded the Purple Heart for his combat engagement and injuries he received in Vietnam
* the medic did not submit a report, but Lieutenant J____ was made aware of the occurrence and nature of the injury during the second week of May 1969
3. He provides three personal/witness statements.
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 29 February 1968. He served in Vietnam from 5 September 1968 to on or about 26 August 1969.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
a. item 38 (Record of Assignments) that he was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment from 22 September 1968 to 26 August 1969;
b. item 40 (Wounds) no entry (blank); and
c. item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for the Purple Heart.
4. On 28 February 1970, he 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 (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, which is 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.
6. A review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant as a casualty.
7. There are no medical records in his official military personnel file that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
8. The applicant provided two personal statements written by him and signed by J m D y and L y W e wherein he indicates he was wounded during an enemy attack in May 1969. He also indicates he realized he was injured when saw that his right knee was bleeding, but chose not to be medically evacuated and has the scar to prove it.
9. He submitted a witness statement from Lieutenant Colonel J____ C. J____ who stated he was the applicant's platoon leader in Vietnam. He also indicated the applicant was injured during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in May 1969. His wound was not serious enough for him to be medically evacuated, but he was deserving of award of the Purple Heart.
10. 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 applicant's request to be awarded the Purple Heart has been carefully considered and it was determined that there is insufficient evidence to support this request.
2. Award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the injury/wound was the result of enemy action, the injury/wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Witness statements by themselves are not sufficient evidence upon which to award him the Purple Heart. The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster or in ADCARS. There is no evidence in his service personnel records which shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds. Therefore, the evidence is not sufficient to support award of the Purple Heart.
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) AR20120014656
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120014656
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