BOARD DATE: 30 September 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140004323
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 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states:
* he was wounded in Vietnam and should have received the Purple Heart
* he was medically evacuated after being wounded in combat and sent to a field hospital but was told there was no record of it
* upon his departure, he called the 1st Infantry Division to inquire about his award and was told that he would receive the orders at his new unit
3. He provides no documents in support of his application.
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's records show he was inducted in the Army of the United States on 13 February 1961. He was discharged on 19 December 1961 for the purpose of enlistment into the Regular Army (RA). He enlisted in the RA on
20 December 1961.
3. His partially illegible DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
a. item 38 (Record of Assignments), he was assigned to:
(1) B Company, 1st Battalion, 2d Infantry Regiment from 2 April to
3 September 1966; and
(2) Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade from
3 September 1966 to 21 March 1967.
b. item 40 (Wounds), is blank.
4. His record contains a DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record - Part II), dated 23 January 1981, that shows:
a. in item 5 (Overseas Service), that he served in Vietnam from
28 March 1966 to 25 March 1967; and
b. in item 9 (Awards, Decorations, and Campaigns), no award of the Purple Heart.
5. On 28 February 1981, he retired after serving for a total of 20 years and 18 days of active service. His DD Form 214, for the period ending 28 February 1981, shows he was awarded the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16), Army Good Conduct Medal (6th award), National Defense Service Medal, Silver Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), Combat Infantryman Badge, two Overseas Service Bars, and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.
6. Review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not show the applicant as a casualty.
7. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
8. There are no medical records in his official military personnel file that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Army's awards policy. It 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 award of the Purple Heart has been carefully considered and it was determined that there is insufficient evidence to support his request.
2. There is no corroborating evidence of record which shows he was injured or wounded as a result of enemy action, that the wound required medical treatment, and the treatment was made a matter of official record. The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing or in ADCARS. There is no evidence in his service personnel records that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.
3. 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) AR20140004323
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140004323
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