IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 14 August 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140000842
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 correction of his
DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show he was separated in the rank/ grade of sergeant
(SGT)/E-5.
2. The applicant states that upon his return from Vietnam, he was given the SGT stripes at Fort Dix, NJ, during his separation processing. X-rays taken at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) revealed shrapnel in his body. He was injured while in Vietnam but he did not report it.
3. The applicant provides photocopies of two pictures of an individual and VAMC radiology reports.
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 17 July 1969.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 15 December 1969 to 17 February 1971. Item 33 (Appointments and Reductions) shows he was promoted to specialist four (SP4)/E-4 on 21 May 1970. Item 33 does not show he attained the rank/grade of SGT/E-5. 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 documentation in his military records and he did not provide any evidence that indicates he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was treated for a combat-related wound. There is also no documentation indicating he was promoted to SGT/E-5.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 19 February 1971. His separation orders show he was separated in the rank of SP4.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. He provides photocopies of pictures of an individual who appears to be wearing a bandage or a cast on his right hand.
9. He also provides VAMC radiology reports and pointed out on page 7 the following entry: "There is a punctuate metallic foreign body in the anterior upper left abdomen, possibly representing a shrapnel fragment." The reports do not indicate the circumstances surrounding the possible shrapnel fragment.
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 and that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his rank as SGT/E-5 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. 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 the applicant's military records. Therefore, in the absence of such evidence, the documentation provided, which does not show he was wounded as a result of hostile actions, is insufficient evidence on which to base awarding him the Purple Heart.
3. There is no evidence in his military records, and he provided none, indicating he was promoted to SGT/E-5 during his active duty service. Additionally, his separation orders he provided show he was separated in the rank of SP4. Therefore, there is no basis to correct his DD Form 214 to show his rank as SGT/E-5.
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) AR20140000842
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140000842
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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