IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 16 May 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120018909
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 to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states:
* in December 1967 or January 1968, he was wounded from mortar attacks near Quang Tri while serving as a medic with the 18th Medical Mobile unit
* he had a superficial wound to his left inside knee which did not require sutures; however, another medic gave him a tetanus shot and helped him bandage the wound
* a second lieutenant or first lieutenant presented him the Purple Heart, but the clerk never got this information into his file for recognition
* he earned the Purple Heart and it should be shown on his DD Form 214
3. The applicant does not provide additional evidence to support his application.
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 15 March 1967. He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 71G (Medical Records Specialist). The highest rank/grade he attained while on active duty was specialist four/E-4.
3. He served in Vietnam from 5 September 1967 to 4 September 1968. He was assigned to the 18th Surgical Hospital, Republic of Vietnam.
4. He was honorably released from active duty on 24 January 1969. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. Nothing in the typical sources show he was wounded/injured as a result of hostile action:
a. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show a combat wound or injury. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9, stated a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20. This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be placed in item 40.
b. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, 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 him.
c. His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing. This is a microfiche listing of Vietnam Era Casualties that is used to verify entitlement to the Purple Heart.
d. His medical records are not available for review and he does not provide copies of them.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and 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 criteria for the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile 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.
2. The applicant's service record is void of any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.
3. Therefore, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him 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) AR20120018909
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120018909
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