BOARD DATE: 4 September 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140000815
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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states his previously missing medical records prove the action-related injury for award of the Purple Heart and benefits.
3. He provides:
* his DD Form 214
* 28 pages of his medical records
* a memorandum from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
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's records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 23 January 1968.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
a. item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in Vietnam from 4 January 1969 to
on or about 3 January 1970;
b. item 38 (Record of Assignments) he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division from 12 January to 29 December 1969;
c. item 40 (Wounds) is blank; and
d. item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not list award of the Purple Heart.
4. He submitted 28 pages of his mostly illegible medical records, which show he was treated for orbital cellulitis on 7 February 1969 which resulted from being struck by bamboo on 1 February 1969, after being seeing at the local clinic for an eyebrow wound a week prior.
5. On 2 January 1970, he was released from active duty. He had completed
1 year, 11 months, and 10 days of active service. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Medical Badge, Air Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), and two Overseas Service Bars.
6. He submitted a memorandum from the VA, dated 11 December 1975, which stated that after reviewing his claim for compensation based on a disability resulting from a left eye and eyebrow condition, no available records showed that he received treatment during his period of service.
7. Review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant as a casualty.
8. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, 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 the applicant.
9. There are no medical records in his official military personnel file that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy. It states the Purple Heart is awarded to members wounded in action and states that in order to award the Purple Heart, there must be evidence the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the wound required treatment by military medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart has been carefully considered and it was determined that there is insufficient evidence to support his request.
2. There is no corroborating evidence of record which shows he was injured or wounded as a result of enemy action, that the wound required medical treatment, and the treatment was made a matter of official record. The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing or in ADCARS. There is no evidence in his service personnel records that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.
3. The medical records that the applicant provided are mostly illegible and state that he sustained and was treated for an injury to his left eye and eyebrow due to orbital cellulitis on 7 February 1969. However, his records do not state this wound was the result of enemy combat.
4. In view of the foregoing, 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) AR20140000815
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140000815
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140017517
His record contains a Casualty Report, dated 7 February 1970, which states that he received a macular wound to his left eye due to the premature detonation of a grenade being used for H&I fire (destroying terrain the enemy could use for cover and concealment). 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. Therefore, he is not entitled to correction of his record to show...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100007970
He also states, "I'm asking the Board to reconsider my request due to I have written twice to be awarded a Purple Heart for my injury that occurred by the enemy in Vietnam." The applicant indicates the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) previously considered and denied the applicants request for award of the Purple Heart. The neuropsychiatric examination provided by the applicant, also dated 15 January 1969, shows he stated he was wounded in June 1966 and received...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080010407
Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). There are no orders in the applicant's records awarding him the Purple Heart. There are no orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart, there are no medical records documenting a wounding, his DA Form 20 does not document a wounding or award of a Purple Heart, his name is not on the Vietnam Casualty List, and there are no orders in ADCARS awarding him the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140000594
His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 3 June 1968 to 16 August 1969. His request for award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered; however, it is not supported by the available evidence of record. To be awarded the Purple Heart, substantiating evidence must be presented to show that the Soldier was wounded as the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080009471
Item 24 of the applicants DD Forms 214 do not show award of the Purple Heart. There is no evidence in his available service personnel records which shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds. In the absence of evidence that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of a Purple Heart in this case.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110002893
The Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), Record of Proceedings, indicates he received medical treatment for his injury on 26 August 1969, but does not mention that it occurred and was treated on 25 August 1969. b. A review of the applicant's military personnel records failed to reveal any evidence he was authorized or awarded the Purple Heart. The evidence of record indicates the documents he provides originated from his military service records and that they were...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090012613
Additionally, there is no evidence that the grenade that caused his wound was being used at the time of his injury in the heat of battle. Absent evidence which conclusively shows that the applicant sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action or as a result of "friendly fire" in the "heat of battle," that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is insufficient basis for awarding him...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | 20070014952
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 10 June 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20070014952 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant states, in effect, that he is requesting reconsideration of his request for the Purple Heart because his medical record did not show that he was treated for a wound during his tour in the Republic of Vietnam. The applicant provides a medical record, dated 7 June 1969 in support of this application.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130019602
He provides: * two DD Forms 214, dated 14 June 1970 and 31 January 1995 * DD Form 2860 (Claim for Combat-Related Special Compensation) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. This DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with "1960" Device, and 2 Overseas Service Bars. 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...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140005341
The applicant provides copies of the following: * Army Commendation Medal certificate * Special Orders (SO) Number 134 * Record Courier Designation * Standard Form (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination) (two copies) * SF 600 (Health Record Chronological Record of Medical Care) * DA Form 3349 (Medical Condition Physical Profile Record) (two copies) * DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) * three alleged photographs of himself CONSIDERATION OF...