BOARD DATE:	  15 July 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130019982 


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 and Air Medal.

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  On 23 May 1970, he was on the ground in the Thua Thien Province in South Vietnam with the 2d Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.  They encountered a booby-trapped white phosphorous round that killed one Soldier and wounded several others, including himself (burns).  The company commander told them everyone who was injured would receive the Purple Heart.  He never received it.  He has no way to prove he was wounded in action other than his word and the fact that he still has some scars.

	b.  He was removed from the field later as a result of another injury and he was assigned as the noncommissioned officer in charge of the S-5 section.  Part of his duties was flying psychological operations missions twice a week.  One of the pilots told him he could earn the Air Medal if he logged over 50 hours of flying.  He logged over 50 hours of flight time, not counting the combat assault he had.  He turned all his documentation in to the division.

	c.  He was also told he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal.  He was never presented these medals; his father received them back home.  This upset many people because they did not know what he did to earn those medals.

3.  The applicant provides his 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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 12 May 1969 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).

3.  He served in Vietnam from 15 April 1970 to 22 March 1971.  He was assigned to 2d Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, from 1 May to 10 July 1970 and to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, for the remainder of his overseas tour.

4.  He was honorably released from active duty on 23 March 1971.  His DD Form 214 lists award of the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal, but not the Purple Heart or Air Medal.

5.  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.

	a.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his 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 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 commonly used to verify entitlement to award of 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 are not available for review with this case.

6.  Nothing in the following typical sources confirms his entitlement to the Air Medal:

* his DA Form 20 does not list this award
* his flight record is not available for review
* his records do not contain a recommendation for award of the Air Medal or orders awarding him the Air Medal

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against and 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.

	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.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Air Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service while participating in aerial flight.  This award is primarily intended for personnel on flying status, but may also be awarded to those personnel whose combat duties require them to fly, for example, personnel in the attack elements of units involved in air-land assaults against an armed enemy.  As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.

9.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided guidelines for award of the Air Medal.  It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations.  It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours.  Twenty-five category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) and accrual of a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in category I missions was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal.  However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point.

10.  Combat missions were divided into three categories.  A category I mission was defined as a mission performed in an assault role in which a hostile force was engaged and was characterized by delivery of ordnance against the hostile force or delivery of friendly troops or supplies into the immediate combat operations area.  A category II mission was characterized by support rendered a friendly force immediately before, during, or immediately following a combat operation.  A category III mission was characterized by support of friendly forces not connected with an immediate combat operation but which must have been accomplished at altitudes which made the aircraft at times vulnerable to small arms fire or under hazardous weather or terrain conditions.  To be recommended for award of the Air Medal, an individual must have completed a minimum of 25 category I missions, 50 category II missions, or 100 category III missions.  Since various types of missions would have been completed in accumulating flight time toward award of an Air Medal for sustained operations, different computations would have had to be made to combine category I, II, and III flight times and adjust it to a common denominator.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  With respect to award of the Purple Heart:

	a.  The criteria for award of the Purple Heart require the submission of substantiating evidence to verify 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.

	b.  The applicant's service records are void of orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart or evidence that he was wounded or injured as a result of combat.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.  His medical records are not available for review with this case.  There is nothing in multiple typical sources that confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action or that he required treatment by medical personnel.

	c.  The applicant's contention and sincerity are not in question.  However, 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 for awarding him the Purple Heart.

2.  With respect to award of the Air Medal, there are no general orders available that show he was awarded the Air Medal.  The governing regulation requires a formal recommendation, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders for award of the Air Medal.  In the absence of independent evidence that would confirm he completed the number of missions necessary to be awarded the Air Medal, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Air Medal in this case.

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 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)                                         AR20130019982



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130019982



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