IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 11 July 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130000369
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 never received the Purple Heart for his injuries in a combat zone
* he spent a year in Vietnam from 24 July 1967 through 23 July 1968, during which time he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
* while on patrol in late 1967 or early 1968, his knee was punctured by part of a Viet Cong booby trap
* he received treatment at the battalion aid station an officer (Lieutenant Colonel (LTC)) came through and told him he would receive the Purple Heart for his injury
* on another occasion, he received shrapnel wounds on his right leg and right thumb the shrapnel in his thumb was removed at the aid station but the piece in his leg remains
* he never received a Purple Heart for either of his two wounds
3. The applicant provides:
* a self-authored statement
*
DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in St. Louis, MO, dated 9 April 2012
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 applicants 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 applicants 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 24 January 1967. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). The highest rank/grade he attained during his period of military service was specialist four (SP4)/E-4.
3. He served in Vietnam from on or about 25 July 1967 to on or about 29 July 1968. During this period of service he was assigned to HHC, 1st Battalion,
28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.
4. On 23 January 1969, he was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation. He completed 2 years of total active service, including 1 year of foreign service in the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) theater of operations. His DD Form 214 shows not indicate he was awarded the Purple Heart.
5. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank indicating the absence of any documented wounds during his period of military service. His available personnel record does not contain orders for the Purple Heart, nor does it contain any documentation indicating he was treated for wounds or injuries he sustained during his service in Vietnam. His medical record is not available for review.
6. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.
7. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, 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 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 applicant contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart; however, neither his available record nor the Vietnam casualty roster or ADCARS provide any evidence that shows he was wounded during his period of service in the Vietnam. Additionally, there is no evidence he received any wounds as a result of hostile action that required treatment by medical personnel, or that the resulting medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
2. Regrettably, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's 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) AR20100015543
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130000369
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