IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 September 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130022240
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 the Purple Heart be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
2. He states:
* He should have received a Purple Heart for an injury he sustained in Vietnam, and he received a medical discharge
* He was shot in his right ankle and knee on 1 February 1967; he was in Bien Hoa, Vietnam
* He was medically retired on 20 September 1968; as a result of the injury sustained from the gunshot wound he is a below-the-knee (BK) amputee
3. He provides no additional documents.
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 12 August 1966.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
* Item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in Vietnam from 6 January to 14 April 1967
* Item 38 (Record of Assignments) he was hospitalized in a patient status on 14 April 1967
* Item 40 (Wounds) he sustained a gunshot wound to his right foot on 1 February 1967
* Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for award of the Purple Heart
4. His service record does not contain orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Vietnam Casualty Roster does not list his name. His DA Form 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status) and DD Form 261 (Report of Investigation Line of Duty and Misconduct Status) indicates he was reassigned to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital on 1 February 1966 for an injury incurred when he tripped and accidentally discharged his weapon resulting in accidently shooting himself in the leg.
5. He was retired from active duty on 19 September 1968 and placed on the temporary disability retired list. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
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 Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that 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 contends he should have received a Purple Heart for an injury he sustained in Vietnam.
2. However, his service record is void of evidence and he has not provided any evidence that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action.
3. Although his DA Form 20 shows he sustained a gunshot wound to his right foot on 1 February 1967, his Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status shows he incurred this injury when he tripped and accidently discharged his weapon.
4. By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and the treatment must have been made a matter of official record. In the absence of evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is an insufficient basis upon which to base award of the Purple Heart 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 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) AR20130022240
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130022240
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