IN THE CASE OF:  	  

		BOARD DATE:  16 September 2014	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140002603 


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 shot in the shoulder on his last day in the field with the 25th Infantry Division.  His records were already transferred to the 597th Transportation Company and his sergeant informed him that he would have his Purple Heart sent to his home.

   b.  When he returned home, he never received the Purple Heart.  A friend advised him that he should go to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and establish a record of his wound.  He went to the Huntington, WV, VA and had the injury recorded in 1972.

   c.  At the time, he did not know of the benefits associated with award of the Purple Heart so he never pursued it; however, he has since been informed that he is entitled to other benefits associated with the award.  He states he applied for a position with the Postal Service in 1986 and he was granted extra points for his Purple Heart based on the record recorded by the Huntington, WV, VA in 1972. 



3.  The applicant provides:

* a self-authored statement 
* a letter
* an office record
* an x-ray report
* a medical document
* DD Form 214
* DA Form 2139-1 (Military Pay Voucher)

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Although the applicant lists a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America as Counsel, he did not render a request on the applicant's behalf.

2.  Counsel provides no additional statement. 

3.  Counsel provides no additional evidence.

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 6 July 1970. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).  His record shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam for the period 13 December 1970 through 8 December 1971.

3.  On 28 December 1971, the applicant underwent a separation physical.  The Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) contained in his records shows he was found qualified for separation from service.  The applicant stated to his knowledge he was in the best of health.  Additionally, there is no indication of a wound recorded on this medical record. 
4.  On 12 January 1972, he was honorably released from active duty.  The DD Form 214 he received does not show award of the Purple Heart.

5. The applicant's military records contain no medical records showing he was wounded in action or treated for a wound received as a result of enemy action.  His military records also do not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

6.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

* item 40 (Wounds) no entry
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for award of the Purple Heart

7.  A review of The Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam Casualty Listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.

8.  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.
 
9.  His record contains a VA Form 21-6796 (Rating Decision) from 1972 in which he claimed a shrapnel wound of the left shoulder with treatment in Vietnam on    5 March 1971.  Although available service records did not show the wound, the applicant was in Vietnam at the time he alleges the wound and he has a scar on the upper left arm; therefore, service connection was conceded by the VA.

10.  The applicant provides various post-service medical documents which indicate a piece of shrapnel or metallic radiopaque foreign body at the inferior humeral head in the soft tissues of his left shoulder.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 correction of his record to show award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered and it was determined there is insufficient evidence to support his request.
2.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for this decoration; rather, the individual is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  Award of the Purple Heart requires a Soldier to have been injured or wounded by hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.

3.  The applicant's service in the Republic of Vietnam and his sincerity are not in question.  However, his record contains no medical treatment records or other documents which confirm he was wounded as a result of enemy action or treated for a combat-related wound or injury while serving in the Republic of Vietnam.  The regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been met; therefore, it would not be appropriate to award the applicant the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  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.



      _______________________
               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)                                         AR20140002603





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140002603



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