IN THE CASE OF: 

		BOARD DATE:	    29 May 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130017613 


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 the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he actually received the Purple Heart at the time of discharge but it does not appear in his record.  He was assigned to the 281st Assault Helicopter unit, Vietnam, in support of the 5th Special Forces from 1967 to 1968.  In November 1967, they crashed while on a mission "causing shrapnel and debris in the crash."  He received a wound to his stomach and a scar.  

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214, two Standard Forms (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination), a statement of support, and a photograph.

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 provides an SF 88, dated 1 September 1966, wherein it shows he underwent a pre-induction physical on that date.  This form shows he had no identifying body mark, scars, or tattoos at that time.

3.  He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 6 October 1966.  He served in Vietnam from 20 March 1967 to 12 March 1968 while assigned to the 281st Aviation Company, 10th Aviation Battalion.

4.  On 4 October 1968, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.

5.  The DD Form 214 he was issued does not show the Purple Heart.  His record is void of orders for the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.

7.  A review of the Adjutant General's Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing failed to show his name as a casualty.

8.  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.

9.  The applicant provides, in effect:
   
   a.  An SF 88, dated 25 September 1968, wherein it shows he underwent a separation physical on that date.  This form shows he had a 4-inch scar, on the right lower quadrant, at that time.
   
   b.  A statement of support, dated 10 August 2013, wherein a former unit member stated he and the applicant were assigned to the 281st Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam.  He cannot remember for sure where it occurred but he thinks the applicant was hit by some shrapnel from incoming mortar, rocket, or fire in one of the places they were on a mission together.
   
   c.  A photograph of an awards display titled "The GI in Vietnam is Quite a Man" that includes a Purple Heart.
10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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 award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that a Soldier received a wound/injury as a result of hostile action, the wound/injury required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  Although the applicant provides an SF 88 that showed at the time he was released from active duty he had a 4-inch scar that he did not have when he entered active duty, the evidence of record does not show, and he provides insufficient evidence that shows, this scar was incurred as a result of a wound received in hostile action.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster, his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat-related wound, and the SF Form 88 he provided does not show the scar was caused by hostile action in Vietnam.  

3.  Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, 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 upon which to award the applicant the Purple Heart in this case.

4.  Nevertheless, this action in no way diminishes 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)                                         AR20130017613



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130017613



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