IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  11 July 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120022953 


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:

* he was on guard duty near the Long Binh Ammunition Depot when the Viet Cong blew it up
* the explosion was extremely loud and looked like an atomic bomb
* he was knocked out of a bunker and experienced a concussion for a couple of minutes
* he only remembers being in the air and then crawling around the ground outside the bunker
* he could not hear for over a week, his ears popped afterwards, and he started experiencing buzzing in his head and began having migraine headaches
* he has flashbacks and panic attacks
* the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has granted him a 100 percent disability rating
* he never complained at the time because he was trained to be a tough Soldier and he thought he was doing the right thing
* he has suffered for 46 years and he is not getting any younger and award of the PH would help to validate his service to his country
* the criteria for award of the PH states "concussions due to enemy explosions" and does not indicate what year



3.  The applicant provides:

* 2-page webpage extract
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* VA rating decision, dated 11 February 2009

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 of the United States on 12 July 1965.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 71C (Stenographer).  

3.  He served in Vietnam from 20 June 1966 to on or about 5 June 1967.  While in Vietnam, he was assigned to the 24th Evacuation Hospital, 68th Medical Group and to the 44th Medical Brigade.

4.  He was honorably released from active duty on 6 June 1967.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart. 

5.  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:

	a.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show a combat wound or injury.  Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9, stated a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20.  This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be placed in item 40.
	b.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is 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.

	c.  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. 

	d.  His medical records are not available for review and he does not provide copies of them.

6.  The applicant provides a 2-page webpage extract on the Long Binh Ammunition Dump explosion on 29 October 1966.  The 2-page extract contains two personal accounts of events occurring during the explosion.  The applicant also provides a copy of his VA rating decision which shows he was granted a 100 percent disability rating.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that 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 the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The applicant's service record is void of any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.  

3.  Regrettably, 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.



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)                                         AR20120022953



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120022953



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