IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  12 June 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130019060 


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 he was wounded in action in an ambush on 6 June 1970.  While responding to a fellow Soldier who was injured in the ambush, he was thrown to the ground by a mortar round explosion.  He recently discovered that shrapnel entered his left hand and remains there after all these years. 

3.  He provides:

* supporting statements
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer of 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.  On 5 March 1969, the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States.  After completing initial entry training, he was awarded military occupational specialty 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman).

3.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

* item 38 (Record of Assignments) – he was assigned to duty in Vietnam with 

* Company E, 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, from 16 August to 23 October 1969
* Heavy Mortar Platoon, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, from 24 October 1969 to 19 March 1970
* Company C, 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 22nd Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, from 20 March to 3 August 1970

* item 40 (Wounds) – no entries showing he was wounded
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) – no entry for the Purple Heart

4.  On 4 December 1970, he was honorably released from active duty.  His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart.

5.  His Official Military Personnel File does not contain any documentation indicating he was wounded in action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

6.  His complete service medical records are not available for review.

7.  Review of the Vietnam casualty listing compiled by The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division, does not show the applicant's name listed as a casualty.

8.  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 Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.




9.  He provides three supporting statements:

	a.  A supporting statement from his doctor, dated 10 October 2013, and a supporting statement from the Manager of Outpatient Services at a civilian hospital, dated 7 October 2013, that shows an x-ray of his left hand showed a foreign object in the area of the left fifth digit near a scar on his hand.  His doctor stated the foreign body is consistent with a history of being hit with shrapnel in a firefight in Vietnam.

	b.  A supporting statement from a former Soldier (name illegible), dated 17 June 2011, shows the former Soldier stated he served in the applicant's squad.  He describes the unit's activities in April, May, and June 1970, and he briefly describes the applicant assisting a fellow Soldier who was injured in a rocket-propelled grenade explosion in early June 1970.  The former Soldier does not indicate that the applicant was wounded in this incident. 

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 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 evidence of record does not show the applicant was wounded during his service in Vietnam, and he has not provided any corroborating documentary evidence substantiating his claim that he was wounded as a result of hostile action on 6 June 1970.

2.  The statements he provides from his doctor and another medical professional are noted.  Unfortunately, these statements are not substantiated by any documents in his record.  An x-ray taken many years after the fact does not meet the standard of evidence for award of the Purple Heart established in the governing regulation.

3.  In the absence of official documentation confirming he was injured as a result of hostile action, that the injury required treatment by medical personnel, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record, there is an insufficient basis for awarding him the Purple Heart or correcting his record to show this award.


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)                                         AR20130019060





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130019060



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