BOARD DATE: 21 August 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140001435
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 both legs, but he never received the Purple Heart
* While in Vietnam, the unit to which he was assigned received mortar and rocket fire
* He was trying to pull another Soldier into a bunker when he was hit in both legs
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 10 December 1990
* Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon Letter, dated 24 October 2013
* Photographs of his right and left legs
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 on 14 February 1969. He completed training as a light vehicle driver. He arrived in Vietnam on 6 July 1969.
3. On 6 July 1970, the applicant departed Vietnam en-route to the United States. He was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on 13 November 1970. He was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training).
4. The Purple Heart is not listed on the applicant's DD Form 214.
5. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show he was wounded as a result of hostile action by enemy forces while he was in Vietnam.
6. A review of the applicant's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) does not contain any documents that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action by enemy forces.
7. Review of The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.
8. The applicant provides copies of photographs which he contends are his left and right legs with wounds he received in Vietnam as a result of hostile action by enemy forces.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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.
10. Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management), chapter 9, in effective at the time, provided for the preparation and submission of the DA Form 20. Paragraph 9-53 states that item 40 (Wounds) of the DA Form 20 shows the wounds and reflects a brief description of wounds or injuries requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization and the date wounded or injured.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contentions have been noted. His supporting evidence has been considered. However, the photographs provided by the applicant are not sufficiently mitigating to warrant the requested relief.
2. There is no evidence contained in his OMPF showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action by enemy forces while he was in Vietnam. There is no entry made on his DA Form 20, and his name is not shows on The Adjutant General's Office, Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's request.
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) AR20140001435
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140001435
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