BOARD DATE: 17 June 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130018768
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. He states his wounding occurred on 17 June 1967 while he was serving with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment. He was a member of the battalion's search and destroy operation when the unit was ambushed during the Battle of Xom Bo in Vietnam. Eight Soldiers were killed in action and he was slightly wounded. The medic removed a small piece of shrapnel from the back of his left shoulder. Since it was a minor wound, he was only treated by the medic and no paperwork was ever written.
3. He provides:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* Self-authored statement
* Two supporting statements with biographies
* Orders 96, dated 6 April 1967
* General Orders Num ber 5743 dated 7 August 1967
* Two Department of Veterans Affairs forms
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
11 August 1966. He served in Vietnam from 4 January 1967 to 4 January 1968. He was honorably released from active duty on 9 August 1968.
3. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
4. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name listed as a casualty.
5. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank. There is no documentation in the available record that shows he sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.
6. 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.
7. The applicant provided:
a. Special Orders Number 96, issued by Headquarters, 1st Infantry Division, dated 6 April 1967 awarding him the Combat Infantryman Badge.
b. General Orders Number 5743, issued by the same headquarters, dated 7 August 1967 awarding him the Army Commendation Medal with "V" Device for heroism in Vietnam on 17 June 1967. The citation does not mention that he was wounded.
c. A supporting statement wherein the author stated that he was the combat medic during the ambush where the applicant sustained shrapnel wounds to his back and shoulder area. He states he treated the applicant but could not
complete the treatment due to other wounded Soldiers who required evacuation due to life-threatening injuries.
d. A supporting statement from a member of his platoon who stated he was present during the ambush and witnessed the applicant's wounding. He adds that to the best of his knowledge the applicant remained with the company in the field after the wounding.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), currently in effect, 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:
While the veracity of the statements provided by a former comrade and the platoon's medic is not in question, there are no available medical records and the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam. In the absence of such evidence, 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:
1. 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.
2. The applicant and all others should to know that the sacrifices the FSM made in service to the United States during the Vietnam conflict are deeply appreciated. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of the applicant's service in arms.
__________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) AR20130018768
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130018768
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