IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  18 June 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120021302 


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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show this award.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded in the head while on a combat mission with the 75th Rangers and received seven stitches at a hospital in Vietnam.  He can offer witnesses to the incident who can vouch for the firefight in the form of his former team members.  When he was discharged, there was much disorder and confusion at the discharge center.  He by-passed some of the stations in order to speed things in the hope he could get home as soon as possible.  He is now 63 years old and when he thinks back on his actions he regrets not receiving his earned medal.

3.  The applicant provides no additional evidence.

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 records show he enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 January 1969 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).  He served in Vietnam from 29 December 1969 to 25 November 1970 while assigned to Company H, 75th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.

3.  He was honorably released from active duty on 26 November 1970 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.  He completed 1 year, 10 months, and 3 days of creditable active service.

4.  The DD Form 214 he was issued does not show award of the Purple Heart.  His records are void of orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

5.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.

6.  A review of the Vietnam casualty listing failed to show his name as a casualty.

7.  A 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

8.  His records contain a letter, dated 1 April 1971, from the U.S. Army Administration Center, St. Louis, MO, wherein it shows the Veterans Administration requested information concerning the injury of the applicant in Vietnam on 30 June 1970 while assigned to Company H, 75th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.  This letter stated the applicant was treated at the 15th Medical Aid Station, Vietnam, on 30 June 1970. 

9.  In a response to the request, dated 27 April 1971, the first sergeant, Detachment 10 (Ranger Platoon), Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, Vietnam, stated the applicant was assigned to that unit at that time, a check of the morning reports revealed no lost time due to injury, and the aid station stated he was treated and released.  This indicated a formal investigation was not required.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound/injury sustained in action against an 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 criteria for award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that a Soldier received a wound/injury as the result of hostile action, the wound/injury required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  Although the applicant's records confirm he was treated at the aid station in Vietnam on 30 June 1970, there is no evidence that shows he was treated on this date for a wound or injury received as a result of hostile action.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing and his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat-related wound.

3.  Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting him the requested relief.

4.  Nevertheless, this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.

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)                                         AR20120021302





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120021302



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