IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 20 June 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120020716
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 wound was never recorded in his medical records
* his unit only had a field medic at the time and no paperwork was ever completed even after he returned from Vietnam
3. The applicant provides:
* Standard Form 519-A (Radiographic Report)
* Standard Form 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care)
* Orders P01-940379, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO, dated 21 January 2011
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. After completing sufficient service for retirement, the applicant was placed on the Retired List on 2 March 2011.
3. Item 5 (Oversea Service) of his DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record Part II) shows he served in the following locations:
* Vietnam during the period 13 January 1970 through 12 November 1971
* Germany during the period 30 August 1975 through 10 August 1977 and 31 March 1980 to 26 March 1983
4. 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.
5. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, 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.
6. 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.
7. A Standard Form 93 (Report of Medical History), dated 13 September 1992, shows:
a. He marked "yes" for item 18 (Have You Had, or Have You Been Advised to Have Any Operations?) and commented that he had two rounds removed from his back.
b. He marked "yes" for item 19 (Have You Ever Been a Patient in Any Type of Hospital?) and commented, "U.S. Army Hospital, Japan."
c. Item 25 (Physician's Summary and Elaboration of All Pertinent Data) states, in part:
* head injury: concussion/unconscious for brief (15 minutes) time, 1970, not hospitalized
* knee: shrapnel just above right knee
* foot: shrapnel removed from right foot
* reaction to morphine: field administered, 1970
8. The applicant provides two documents extracted from his medical records, dated 1981, which show:
* he had a large abscess from a 10-year old shrapnel wound to his right leg
* he was seen on 5 December 1981 for a dressing change for removal of shrapnel from his right thigh
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against and 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 for award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered.
2. The criteria for 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. The applicant's service record is void of any evidence and he does not provide evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.
4. 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 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) AR20120020716
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120020716
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