IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 June 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120022728
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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he was riding on an armored personnel carrier (APC) going about 50 miles per hour when he was knocked off the APC, falling on his head and hands. He fractured his right hand, had two operations, a bone graft, and was wearing a cast for seven months. He contends that the Purple Heart was presented to him at Valley Forge on or around September 1969 because of the wounds he suffered in Vietnam. He adds that the Purple Heart was never recorded on his DD Form 214.
3. The applicant provides a DD Form 214.
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 was inducted into the Army on 4 June 1968.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 15 April 1969 through sometime in August 1969 and that he was in a patient status after departing Vietnam. Item 40 (Wounds) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
4. There is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was treated for a combat-related wound. He is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
5. The facts and circumstances surrounding the incident that led to his hospitalization are not available.
6. He was released from active duty on 25 March 1970. His DD Form 214 does not include the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
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. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound 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 applicant's contention that he was presented the Purple Heart and that the award should be added to his DD Form 214 has been carefully considered.
2. His DA Form 20 contains no entries indicating he was wounded in action and there is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was treated for a combat-related wound. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster. Although there is evidence showing he was in a patient status, the governing regulation requires that substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the injury was the result of hostile action. In the absence of such evidence, the fact that he was in a patient status alone is insufficient evidence on which to base awarding the Purple Heart in this case.
3. Based on the foregoing, there is no basis to grant the 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.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120022728
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120022728
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