IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  6 June 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120020264 


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 and his "Flight Wings."

2.  The applicant states he was wounded in combat which took 13 stitches to his right knee.  The stitches were removed 30 days later after being transferred to the United States.  He was wounded in the right knee in Vietnam.  He never received his Purple Heart or his "Flight Wings" (presumably the Aircraft Crew Member Badge). 

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 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 record shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 2 November 1966 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). 

3.  He served in Vietnam as an infantryman from on or about 27 April 1967 to on or about 28 June 1968.  He was assigned to Company A, 5th Battalion, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. 

4.  He departed Vietnam in a patient status on 29 June 1968.  He appears to have sustained an illness or an injury that warranted his entry into the physical disability evaluation system.  His narrative summary and medical evaluation board are not available for review with this case.  However, his records contain a DA Form 1361 (Recommended Finding of Physical Evaluation Board), dated 26 November 1968 that shows:

* he was found unfit for duty by reason of disability that was not the direct result of armed conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war
* he was rated at 30-percent and recommended for placement on the temporary disability retired list (TDRL)
* he was rated under the Veterans Administration Schedule for Rating Disabilities codes 7599 (Bilateral Testalgia) and 7519 (Fistula of Urethra) 

5.  He was honorably retired on 2 January 1969 and placed on the TDRL by reason of temporary disability on 3 January 1969.  His DD Form 214 for this period of service shows he was awarded or authorized the:

* Vietnam Service Medal
* Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 Device
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* National Defense Service Medal
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)

6.  He underwent a TDRL examination that led to a finding of fitness for duty.  Accordingly, he enlisted in the Regular Army on 8 January 1971.  He served in Germany from around March 1972 to on or about 17 January 1974.  

7.  He was honorably discharged on 18 January 1974.  

8.  Nothing in several typical source documents shows 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.

9.  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.

10.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Awards), in effect at the time, provided for temporary and permanent award of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.  The regulation authorized the commander of any unit with Army aircraft assigned to publish orders allowing qualified members of that command to wear the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.

	a.  To be eligible for temporary award of this badge an individual had to be on flying status as a crew chief in the case of crew chiefs, electronic sensor system operators, and flight engineers, or as a non-crewmember in the case of observers, medical aidmen, gunners, aircraft maintenance supervisors, or technical inspectors.  The regulation also required individuals to be qualified based on a Class III physical examination and to hold a principal duty assignment as a crew chief, flight engineer, aircraft maintenance supervisor, observer, gunner, or technical inspector.  These personnel are authorized to wear the badge temporarily until relieved from these duties or they may be authorized permanent wear of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge once they have fulfilled the regulatory requirements for permanent award of the badge.

	b.  For permanent award of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge, an individual must have performed in one of the duties specified above for not less than 12 months (not necessarily consecutive) or must have been school trained for a principal duty specified above.  Personnel who are precluded by incapacitation from further flight duty due to wounds sustained as a result of hostile action or injuries resulting from an aircraft accident for which they are not personally responsible are entitled to permanent wear of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.  Further, an individual who has participated in at least 15 combat missions under probable exposure to enemy fire while serving in the principal duty of crew chief, flight engineer, aircraft maintenance supervisor, observer, gunner, or technical inspector is entitled to permanent award of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  With respect to the Purple Heart: 

	a.  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.

	b.  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, and his medical records do not reflect a combat injury/wound or treatment.  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.

	c.  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.

2.  With respect to the "Flight Wings" presumed to be the Aircraft Crew Member Badge, his records do not contain official orders awarding him this badge.  Additionally, in order to be awarded a permanent award of this badge, he would have had to hold the principal duty assignment as a crew chief in the case of crew chief, electronic sensor system operators, and flight engineer, or as a non-crewmember in the case of observer, medical aidman, gunner, aircraft maintenance supervisor, or technical inspector, had to be on flying status for 12 months, and required to have been qualified based on a Class III physical examination.  He has not met the requirements for this badge.
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)                                         AR20120020264





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120020264



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