IN THE CASE OF: 

		BOARD DATE: 28 August 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140001284


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.  The applicant states:

	a.  He was wounded in Vietnam while serving as a medic in Landing Zone Stinson.  After a mortar attack, the doctor asked for two men to go out and retrieve the wounded Soldiers.  He and another medic volunteered, and he was wounded with shrapnel to his nose.  The doctor put him in for the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.  The Silver Star was downgraded and he received the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device.  He never received the Purple Heart.

	b.  His main job was as a medic, but when he was not treating Soldiers he was an infantryman fighting like the rest.  He sees today's Soldiers getting Bronze Star Medals for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a non-combat area.  He was treating Soldiers under fire and could see and hear bullets whizzing by or hitting the ground in front of him.  He feels he risked his life being a medic trying to save fellow Soldiers from dying.

3.  The applicant did not provide any additional supporting documentation.



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 16 January 1967 and he reenlisted on 31 January 1969.  He was awarded military occupational specialty 91B (Medical Specialist).

3.  The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

	a.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in Vietnam from 26 February 1968 through 25 February 1969 and from 2 July 1970 through 16 July 1971.

	b.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments), he was assigned to:

		(1)  Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 8th Battalion, 6th Artillery, 1st Infantry Division from 6 March 1968 through 16 February 1969;

		(2)  23rd Administration Replacement Detachment, U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) from 25 July 1970 through 27 March 1971; and

		(3)  Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd Medical Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division from 28 March through 14 July 1971.

	c.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations), no listing for the Purple Heart.

	d.  Item 40 (Wounds) is blank.

4.  On 30 January 1975, the applicant was honorably discharged as a specialist four/E-4.  He completed 8 years and 15 days of total active service.

5.  His DD Form 214 does not list award of the Purple Heart.

6.  There is no evidence of record and the applicant has not provided any evidence that shows he was entitled to the Purple Heart at any time during his active duty service.

7.  His record contains Headquarters, Americal Division, General Orders Number 14617, dated 9 November 1970, showing he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for action on 8 September 1970 while at Landing Zone Stinson.  The award narrative mentions he was "knocked from his feet by concussion of exploding rounds," but there is no mention that he sustained a wound in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.

8.  A Standard Form SF 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 16 December 1974, does not have any notations indicating the applicant had been wounded in action.

9.  The applicant's medical records are not available for review, and review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.

10.  Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

11.  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.  There is no available evidence showing he was awarded or entitled to award of the Purple Heart.  One of the requirements is that the wound be made a matter of record.  Unfortunately, it appears the applicant, a medic, did not make treatment of any wounds received in action a matter of record.

2.  In view of the foregoing, there is no 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 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)                                         AR20140001284



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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


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