BOARD DATE:	  28 January 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130009690 


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, through a Member of Congress, requests correction of his record to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he was injured while making repairs to a disabled armored vehicle during an enemy attack.  He was hospitalized for 49 days as a result of his injury.  He suffered permanent damage and removal of two teeth and a laceration to his upper lip.  He was not awarded the Purple Heart despite his injuries during battle.

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 4 (Enlistment Record - Armed Forces of the United States)
* Standard Form (SF) 502 (Clinical Record)
* DA Form 8-275-3 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet)
* 1 page of his DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record - Part II)

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 22 November 1961.  He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS)       112.10 (Heavy Weapons Infantryman).  On 19 April 1964, he was honorably discharged for immediate reenlistment.  Upon reenlistment he subsequently received training and was awarded MOS 63C (Track Vehicle Mechanic).  His record shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam for the period 29 September 1965 through 29 August 1966.

3.  On 12 February 1970, he was honorably discharged for immediate reenlistment.  The DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he received at the time of his discharge for immediate reenlistment does not show award of the Purple Heart.

4.  His record contains a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) that shows in:
* item 40 (Wounds) no entry
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for award of the Purple Heart

5.  On 25 August 1975, he was honorably discharged.  The DD Form 214 he was issued shows he completed 13 years, 11 months, and 4 days of total active service; however, this form also fails to show he received the Purple Heart.

6.  The applicant provides:

   a.  An SF 502 that shows he was admitted on 4 March 1966 in a semi-conscious condition.  His diagnosis taken at the time was not considered reliable.  At the time of discharge the applicant related that he was hit by a tanker's bar while on his job as a mechanic.  A clinical exam revealed a thru and thru traumatic laceration of the upper lip along with fracture of teeth numbers eight and nine.  He was taken to the operating room and under local anesthetic, his lip was repaired and teeth removed.  The remainder of the applicant's hospitalization was uneventful and he was discharged on 22 April 1966 for follow-up as an out-patient. 

   b.  A DA Form 8-275-3 that shows he was admitted to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital on 4 March 1966 and discharged on 22 April 1966.  Item 23 (Diagnosis) states the applicant sustained a penetrating wound, upper lip, with fracture of teeth numbers eight and nine.  The applicant was allegedly injured while cleaning his weapon at an unknown location.
   
7.  The applicant's record does not contain nor did he provide any medical records which show he was wounded in action or treated for a wound received as a result of enemy action.  His record also does not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

8.  A review of The Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam Casualty Listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.

9.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, 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.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy.  Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance for award of the Purple Heart.  It states the Purple Heart is awarded to members wounded in action and states that in order to award the Purple Heart, there must be evidence the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound required treatment by military medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for correction of his DD Form 214 to show award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered and it was determined there is insufficient evidence to support his request.

2.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for this decoration; rather, the individual is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  Award of the Purple Heart requires a Soldier to have been injured or wounded by hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.

3.  It appears the applicant sustained a wound to his upper lip with fractured teeth while in the Republic of Vietnam.  However, notwithstanding the applicant's statement and clinical record of his medical treatment at the time, there is no corroborating evidence to identify the circumstances under which the applicant was injured.  The applicant did not provide sufficient medical evidence which indicates he was wounded in action by a hostile force.  In addition, item 40 of his DA Form 20 contains no entries which indicate he was wounded in action and his name is not included on the Vietnam casualty listing, the official Department of the Army list of Vietnam battle casualties.  Furthermore, evidence provided by the applicant is contradictory as to what and how the applicant received his injury.

4.  The applicant's sincerity is not in question; however, he did not provide sufficient evidence which shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.  In the absence of such evidence, regrettably, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been met.

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)                                         AR20130009690





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130009690



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