BOARD DATE:	  7 August 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130022039 


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 wounded in combat and he was treated in the field by a medic
* upon his discharge, he was informed the paperwork for the Purple Heart was delayed and that it would eventually catch up with him
* his records were never corrected nor did he ever receive the award 
* on or about 7 November 1969, they came under attack by the North Vietnamese while at a firebase in Quan Loi
* a track vehicle from C troop took a direct hit and the resulting shrapnel hit him in the back
* after helping the men on another track and after the battle was over, he saw the medic and he received treatment for his injuries
* it was his understanding that his name was submitted for award of the Purple Heart 
* the people who served with him and who witnessed the event have come forward to provide the required information

3.  The applicant provides a DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), four eyewitness statements, a DA Form 1594 (Daily Staff Journal or Duty Officer's Log), orders for the Purple Heart, and a chronological record of events.

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 22 January 1968.  

3.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 8 June 1969 to 12 January 1970 with A Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR).  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.

4.  There is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was treated for a combat-related wound.

5.  The applicant provides:

	a.  A DA Form 1594, dated 7 November 1969, that shows the 1st Squadron, 11th ACR sustained a number of casualties on 7 November 1969.  His name is not listed on the DA Form 1594.

	b.  General Order Number 296 issued by Headquarters, 93rd Evacuation Hospital, dated 8 November 1969, awarded members of A Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th ACR the Purple Heart for wounds received on 7 November 1969; however, his name is not listed on the Purple Heart orders.

6.  He was honorably released from active duty on 15 January 1970. 

7.  He also provides:

	a.  Four eyewitness statements from former members of his unit that were written between 2012 and 2014.  These statements support his contention that he sustained shrapnel wounds in November 1969.
	b.  A chronological record of events detailing the steps he has taken in obtaining documentation to verify his entitlement to the Purple Heart.

8.  A review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam Casualty Listing does not show the applicant's name as a combat casualty.

9.  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.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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:

1.  The applicant's contention that he should be awarded the Purple Heart has been carefully considered.

2.  His DA Form 20 contains no entries indicating he was wounded in action and there is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was treated for a combat-related wound.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.  

3.  The eyewitness statements were carefully considered; however, in the absence of evidence indicating he was treated for a combat-related injury the statements are insufficient evidence on which to base awarding him the Purple Heart.

4.  The governing regulation requires that substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the injury was the result of hostile action and that the injury required treatment by medical personnel.  There is no such evidence in his military records and he did not provide sufficient evidence to show his entitlement to this award.

5.  In view of the foregoing, there 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)                                         AR20130022039



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130022039



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