IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 October 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140002547
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, in effect, three awards of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states:
* he sustained wounds in June 1966, September 1966, and March 1967 during combat action in Vietnam
* the wounds were unreported because he was treated on site
* the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) granted him service-connected status for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* VA Forms 21-0781 (Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for PTSD)
* letters of support
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 1 December 1965 for 3 years. He served as a Field Artillery Basic Crewman in Vietnam from 12 January 1967 to 8 January 1968.
3. He was honorably released from active duty on 29 November 1968. His DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
4. His available record does not contain orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. Item 20 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank, indicating the lack of any recorded wounds, and his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
5. 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 award of the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
6. He provided VA Forms 21-0781 wherein he states:
a. In June 1966, he was injured during a mortar attack and he received a flesh tear of his left arm.
b. In September 1966, he was injured during a mortar attack and he received a flesh tear of his elbow.
c. In March 1967, he was injured during a mortar attack and he received a flesh tear of his left side.
7. He provided statements from his family members.
a. His wife states he told her about the shrapnel wound and how he just went on because he didn't figure he deserved treatment or any help because he was still breathing.
b. His two children state he told them about shrapnel wounds he received during the war. In June 1966, he was injured in a mortar attack and received a left arm flesh tear. In September 1966, he was injured in a mortar attack and received a flesh tear wound of the left side of his face. In 1967, he was injured in a perimeter attack that resulted in a flesh tear on both of his arms.
c. His sister states he has shrapnel wounds.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 contends he was injured three times in combat in Vietnam.
2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes the basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:
* a wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by military medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
3. There is no evidence in the available records showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. Regrettably, in the absence of corroborating evidence showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam, the statements provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for awarding him the Purple Heart.
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) AR20140002547
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140002547
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