IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    12 September 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130001954 


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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states:

* he was never awarded the Purple Heart for combat injuries sustained during the Vietnam War in July 1968
* the reported incident was documented in his service medical records on 1 July 1968, 4 July 1968, and 11 July 1968

3.  The applicant provides:

* 2-page medical records extract
* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim)
* letter, Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), dated 13 January 2012
* DD Form 214
* DD Form 215 (Correction to 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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 March 1967.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

3.  He served in Vietnam from 4 September 1967 to 1 September 1968.  While in Vietnam, he was assigned to:

* Company C, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division from 13 September 1967 to 7 June 1968
* Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division from 8 June to 22 June 1968
* Company C, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division from 23 June to 1 September 1968

4.  He was released from active duty on 30 April 1970.  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.  Additionally, there is nothing in the typical sources below that 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.

6.  On 11 April 2007, the Army Review Boards Agency Support Division, St. Louis, MO, issued the applicant a DD Form 215 adding additional awards and decorations to his DD Form 214.

7.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214, DD Form 215, VA Form 21-4138, and a letter from the ABCMR, dated 13 January 2012, in which he was advised his case was administratively closed due to his records being unavailable.  He was advised to resubmit his request in 90 days.  He also provides a 2-page medical records extract which shows he was treated at an aid station on 1 July 1968 and that he suffered an injury to his ear from a gun blast.  He was also treated at the aid station on 4 July and 11 July 1968 for his ear.  The medical record extracts do not show the gun blast occurred due to hostile action or was incurred while in combat.

8.  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.  Therefore, 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)                                         AR20130001954



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130001954



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1