BOARD DATE:	  13 March 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130012493 


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 to be awarded two awards of the Purple Heart and correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show these awards. 

2.  The applicant also requests the issuance of all awards and decorations shown on his DD Form 214. 

3.  The applicant states he was wounded on 3 April 1968 and on 10 April 1968.  

4.  The applicant provides statements from two individuals. 

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.  With respect to the issuance of all his medals and decorations:  

	a.  The ABCMR corrects records; the Board does not issue medals or badges.  Any questions or concerns regarding replacement medals and badges should be referred to the appropriate agency.  Requests for the issuance or replacement of military service medals, decorations, awards, badges, and corresponding accouterments should be directed to the specific branch of the military in which the veteran served.  For Army personnel, the National Personnel Records Center will verify the awards to which a veteran is entitled and forward the request with the verification to the appropriate service department for issuance of the medals. 

	b.  Written requests with appropriate supporting evidence may be addressed to the National Personnel Records Center, ATTN:  Army Reference Branch, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138.  Once verified, the replacement medals and devices are shipped to the veteran by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), Clothing and Heraldry (PSID), Post Office Box 57997, Philadelphia, PA 19111.  Therefore, the issue of the issuance of all his medals will not be discussed further in the Record of Proceedings. 

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 17 August 1966 and he held military occupational specialty 13A (Field Artillery Basic).  He served in Vietnam from 20 January 1967 to 8 May 1967.  He was assigned to Battery C, 5th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery.  

4.  He was injured on 26 April 1967 in the vicinity of Van Gia, Vietnam, by the explosion of a plastic cap of a claymore mine held in his hand.  He was initially treated at the 8th Field Hospital and later transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  His injury was investigated and determined not to be in line of duty. 

5.  After treatment and an assignment to Fort Polk, LA, he served in Vietnam again from on or about 27 February 1968 to on or about 20 March 1969.  He was assigned to Service Battery, 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery. 

6.  He was honorably released from active duty on 21 March 1969.  His DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart. 

7.  He provides two statements: 

	a.  An individual states that on 3 April 1968 C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery, came under an intense ground and rocket attack.  He (the author) served as the battery medic during this attack.  He treated several Vietnamese and U.S. wounded individuals.  The applicant was among those treated.  He sustained a shrapnel wound in his shoulder.  He was treated and returned to duty. 

	b.  A statement from an individual who states he was a medic with the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968.  Their base camp was in the central highlands of South Vietnam.  He spent most of 1968 at Landing Zone (LZ) Schuller.  On 3 April 1968, they received word that their battery was being attacked and was eventually overrun.  The applicant was sent to the C Battery location to help out.  While there, he received an injury to his shoulder from hostile fire.  After receiving medical attention, he returned to LZ Schuller.  A week later, on 10 April 1968, the LZ came under attack.  They received a lot of small arms and mortar fire.  During this attack, the applicant received wounds to his arm.  He (the author) attended to his injury and filled out the medical tag before going on to other wounded Soldiers. 

8.  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/injured as a result of hostile action:

	a.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his contemporaneous 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. 

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

	e.  His medical records, including his separation physical, which would have shown or mentioned a combat wound/injury or treatment, are not available for review with this case. 

9.  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.

	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.

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 orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.  His medical records are not available for review.  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.

3.  The applicant's contention and sincerity, and those of the individuals who wrote the statements, are not in question.  However, in the absence of orders or documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, in addition to a record of treatment and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for adding any awards of the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214.

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)                                         AR20130012493





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130012493



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