IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 14 May 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120019112
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:
* he was injured in combat during the Vietnam War and never received the Purple Heart
* he was ambushed by a Vietcong Soldier in August 1970 while setting up claymore mines for night defense and he fell on a punji stick
* the punji stick penetrated his rectum and he was evacuated to a hospital
* he has a Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star Medal
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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 19 February 1970. He served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 2 August 1970 to 20 September 1971. On 21 September 1971, he was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation.
3. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award but does show, among other awards, the Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star Medal.
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
5. Item 20 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank.
6. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster. His service medical records are not available.
7. 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.
8. 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 never awarded the Purple Heart for wounds he sustained in combat in Vietnam during August 1970.
2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:
* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by military medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
3. There is no evidence of record in the available record that shows he was wounded or injured 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) AR20120019112
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120019112
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