IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 July 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130021406
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 be added to his
DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
2. He states the orders for the award were never placed in his records.
3. He provides:
* DD Form 214
* two newspaper articles
* Pennsylvania Driver's License with Purple Heart Medal
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 9 March 1966. He served in Vietnam from 11 September 1966 to 10 September 1967. He was honorably released from active duty on 7 March 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. He provides two newspaper articles stating he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received while serving in Vietnam.
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:
Although the applicant provided two newspaper articles indicating he was awarded the Purple Heart, this is not sufficient evidence to warrant adding the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214. 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:
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) AR20130021406
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130021406
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