BOARD DATE: 23 May 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120019490
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 his lieutenant was killed prior to submitting him (the applicant) for this award.
3. The applicant provides 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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 September 1969 for a period of 2 years. He held military occupational specialty 11D (Armor Reconnaissance Specialist).
3. He served in Vietnam from 17 March 1970 to 18 February 1971. He was assigned to K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
4. He was honorably released from active duty on 28 September 1971 at the expiration of his term of service. His DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
5. There is no evidence in six typical source documents that show he was wounded in action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.
a. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank (does not show a combat injury).
b. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show the Purple Heart.
c. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not list his name as a casualty.
d. His available medical records do not show he suffered a combat wound or injury or was treated for any combat wound/injury.
e. 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 Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
f. His service record is void of a Western Union telegram or an official Army message notifying his next of kin of a combat injury.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. To qualify for award of the Purple Heart, 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 an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
2. In this case, the applicant's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing, his DA Form 20 does not show he was wounded in action, his medical records do not reflect a combat injury/wound or treatment, and his service record is void of orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. His record is also void of any official Army correspondence or Western Union telegrams and there is no conclusive evidence in his service personnel record that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.
3. Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of official documentary evidence to corroborate the events that led to his alleged injury, or additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
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.
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120019490
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