IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 26 September 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130001769
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, in effect:
a. He believes he should be awarded the Purple Heart because traditionally history has shown that a Soldier who is wounded by unfriendly fire receives the award.
b. He was wounded by a land mine while driving a 5-ton dump truck.
c. He believes that prejudice contributed to him not receiving the Purple Heart and his name not being turned in for it.
d. He was treated by a field unit and sent to a hospital in Vietnam. He still has shrapnel in his body. The medical records he has in his possession do not show he was hospitalized in Vietnam.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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 25 May 1965. He served as a bridge specialist in Vietnam from 10 December 1965 to
15 December 1966. On 9 June 1967, he was honorably released from active duty.
3. There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
4. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank.
5. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
6. A 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. He believes there was prejudice involved as to why the Purple Heart was never turned in. However, there is no evidence of record and he has provided no evidence which shows he was a victim of discrimination.
2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:
* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
3. There is no evidence in the available record that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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) AR20130001769
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130001769
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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