IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  25 March 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130012019 


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, he was injured in Vietnam but did not receive the Purple Heart. 

3.  The applicant provides two undated/unnamed medical documents. 

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 26 October 1965 and held military occupational specialty 94A (Food Service Apprentice). 

3.  He served in Vietnam with the 185th Aviation Company and the 203rd Aviation Company, from on or about 9 June 1967 to 24 April 1968. 

4.  He was honorably released from active duty on 26 April 1968.  His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) 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.  Nothing in several typical sources show he was wounded or 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.  

	b.  His personnel records do not contain an official Army message or a Western Union telegram notifying his next of kin of an injury or wound sustained in action.  This was the proper notification of injuries at the time.

	c.  His medical records, specifically his records of treatment, are not available for review with this case.  He provides an undated/unnamed medical statement that shows during a mortar attack on or about 8 March 1968, an unidentified individual ran from the enlisted club and appears to have twisted or felt pain in his knee and received treatment.  

	d.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing.  This is a listing of Vietnam era casualties commonly is used to verify entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.

	e.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, 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.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart 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:

	a.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:  injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap; injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent; injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire; and/or concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.

	b.  Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:  frostbite or trench foot injuries; heat stroke; food poisoning not caused by enemy agents; chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy; battle fatigue; disease not directly caused by enemy agents; accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action; self-inflicted wounds, except when in the heat of battle and not involving gross negligence; post-traumatic stress disorders; and/or jump injuries not caused by enemy action.

7.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for the award.

2.  The criteria for an award of 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 treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

3.  In this case, the evidence of record shows an individual, presumably the applicant, ran for cover during a mortar attack on what appears to be his unit area.  He hurt his knee in the process and later received treatment for hurting his knee.  His injury was accidental; it was not caused by enemy action.  

4.  The applicant's service record is void of any evidence that he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.  His medical records are not available for review with this case.  There is nothing in multiple typical sources that confirm he was wounded as a result of hostile action or that he required treatment by medical personnel.

5.  Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of additional official documentary evidence to corroborate the events that led to his alleged injury, or additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.

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)                                         AR20130012019





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130012019



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