IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 August 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130001370
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 two awards of the Purple Heart (PH).
2. The applicant states:
a. he should receive two PH awards for wounds he received while serving in Vietnam; and
b. no time was taken to do the paperwork or present him these awards.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) and a House of Representatives letter.
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 10 July 1967. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 27 July 1968 through 23 July 1969. Item 40 (Wounds) contains no entries and no PH awards are listed in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
4. His record does not contain an order or any other documents indicating he was ever recommended for or awarded the PH by proper authority. It also contains no documents to show he ever received medical treatment for any combat-related wound.
5. On 24 July 1969, the applicant was honorably released from active duty after completing 2 years and 15 days of creditable active duty service of which 11 months and 28 days were foreign service.
6. The applicant provides a House of Representatives letter, dated 22 February 1969, forwarding the applicant's parents a newspaper article which shows he was recovering from severe burns sustained in South Vietnam. It also shows he was wounded when his armored vehicle struck a land mine earlier in the year.
7. During the processing of this case, a member of the Board's staff reviewed the Department of the Army Vietnam Casualty Roster. There is no entry pertaining to the applicant.
8. 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 PH pertaining to the applicant.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes the Army's awards policy. Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to award of the PH. It states that in order to support award of the PH there must be evidence that the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, that the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and a record of this medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he should be awarded two PHs. There is insufficient evidence to support this claim.
2. Although the newspaper article he provides shows he was twice wounded while serving in Vietnam, it fails to show he suffered this wounding during combat as a result of enemy action. Item 40 of his DA Form 20 is blank and there are no documents in his military record to show he was ever awarded or recommended for the PH at any time throughout his military service. The applicant's name is not included on the Vietnam Casualty Roster. Absent evidence to corroborate that he was wounded as a result of enemy action and that he received medical treatment for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence to show he met the criteria for award of the PH.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___X____ ___X___ ____X___ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
1. 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.
2. The applicant and all others concerned should know that this action related to award of the PH in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
_______ _ 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) AR20130001370
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130001370
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