BOARD DATE: 31 October 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130004958
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 (PH).
2. The applicant states he was injured while serving on active duty and was told he would receive the award.
3. The applicant provides copies of his DD Forms 214 covering his two periods of service.
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. On 19 March 1963, the applicant was inducted in the Army of the United States. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). He was released from active duty on 18 March 1965. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 2 April 1965 and continued to serve until he was honorably released from active duty on 1 April 1968.
3. The applicant's two DD Forms 214 show he earned the following awards during his periods of active duty service:
* National Defense Service Medal (NDSM)
* Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) with 2 bronze service stars
* Two Overseas Service Bars
* Vietnam Campaign Medal (VCM) with Device 1960
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
* Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB)
* Parachutists Badge
4. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Republic of Vietnam (RVN) with Company A, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry during the period
8 July 1965 to 25 July 1966.
5. The applicants record is void of orders or documents indicating he was wounded in action in the RVN. It is also void of medical treatment records indicating he was ever treated for a combat-related wound. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicants DA Form 20 is blank, and the PH is not included in the list of earned awards in item 41 (Awards and Decorations).
6. The applicant's name is not listed on the Army Vietnam Casualty Roster.
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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the PH pertaining to the applicant.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the PH is awarded for a wound sustained while 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 criteria for the PH 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 name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster and there are no medical records available to show he was treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.
3. The applicant's contention, sincerity, and his integrity are not in question. However, 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.
4. This action in no way diminished the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
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) AR20130004958
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130004958
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