BOARD DATE:	  1 July 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130017857 


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:

* he was combat wounded in Vietnam
* during a firefight in the jungles of Vietnam he sustained shrapnel wounds in the left forearm and left side of his head

3.  The applicant provides:

* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) documentation
* Statement from his commanding officer at the time in question
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)

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 8 May 1967 for a period of 
3 years.  He completed his training and was awarded military occupational specialty 11D (armor intelligence specialist).  He served in Vietnam from 
21 October 1967 to 13 February 1968.  On 14 February 1968, he was honorably released from active duty.

3.  His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

4.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.

5.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank. 

6.  His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.

7.  His records contain a Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 14 February 1968, which shows he underwent a separation physical examination which makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.  Items 18 (Head, Face, Neck and Scalp) and 35 (Upper Extremities) of this form show he was rated normal.  

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.  He provides a statement, dated 6 December 1968, from his commanding officer at the time in question.  He states:

* he had a track driver by the name of Brown in Vietnam
* he received a shrapnel wound on the right side of the head above the right ear on 14 January 1968
* the wound was considered a minor one and was later taken care of by the platoon medic

10.  He also provides VA documentation which states "he stated he was treated for a shrapnel wound of the head while in combat, but doubted that a record was ever made of it."  He was granted service connection for a scar, left temple, residual of shell fragment wound (0%).
11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
   
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends he was wounded during a firefight in the left forearm and left side of his head in Vietnam.  However, he provides a statement from his commanding officer at the time in question who contends a Soldier with the same last name as the applicant was wounded on the right side of his head above the right ear.

2.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart and all other awards.  The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:

* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records

3.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.  Contemporaneous medical documentation shows his head and upper extremities were rated normal on 14 February 1968.  His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.  In the absence of corroborating evidence showing he was injured and treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Vietnam, the VA documentation and supporting statement are not sufficient for award of the Purple Heart.

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)                                         AR20130017857





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130017857



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