IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 21 October 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140004480
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 the second award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states his first Purple Heart was awarded for wounds received in action on 18 September 1967 from a punji stick to the right foot. He adds that he was wounded on 7 November 1967 from a gunshot wound to the ankle and he was never awarded the second Purple Heart.
3. He provides a newspaper article and DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)).
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
14 November 1966. He served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from
12 May to 8 December 1967.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
a. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) the effective date, unit of assignment, and principal duty during his service in the RVN and shortly thereafter:
* 26 May 1967, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, as a light weapons infantryman
* 15 November 1967, Medical Holding Detachment, 249th General Hospital, in a patient status
* 8 December 1967, Medical Holding Detachment, U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Campbell, KY, in a patient status
* 12 March 1968, Medical Holding Detachment, Fort Leonard Wood, MO, in a patient status
b. Item 40 (Wounds) gunshot wound to left ankle, 20 September 1967. The evidence indicates he was wounded on 18 September 1967.
4. General Orders Number 3569, dated 26 October 1967, issued by the
4th Infantry Division, awarded the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received in connection with military operations against a hostile force on 18 September 1967.
5. On 20 September 1968, he was honorably released from active duty and credited with 1 year, 10 months, and 7 days of active duty service. His
DD Form 215 shows he was awarded the Purple Heart.
6. The applicant's military records do not contain any general orders awarding him the 2nd award of the Purple Heart. His name is not listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster for 7 November 1967 and only appears for wounds incurred on 18 September 1967.
7. A 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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart for wounds received on 7 November 1967.
8. The applicant provided a newspaper article, dated 16 November 1967, that stated he was recuperating in a hospital in Japan after being wounded while in Vietnam between 5 and 8 November (1967).
9. 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 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 600-8-22 states a Purple Heart is authorized for the first wound suffered under conditions indicated above, but for each subsequent award an Oak Leaf Cluster will be awarded to be worn on the medal or ribbon.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant provided a newspaper article indicating he was wounded between 5 and 8 November 1967 in Vietnam; however, this newspaper article is not sufficient evidence to warrant adding the Purple Heart (2nd Award) to his DD Form 214. The evidence of record shows only one entry on his DA Form 20 for a gunshot wound to the left ankle on 20 September 1967, but the evidence indicates that this date should be 18 September 1967. Additionally, his name only appears once on the Casualty Roster for wounds incurred on 18 September 1967 and he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on that date.
2. Although his record verifies he was a patient in the hospital on 15 November 1967 and transferred to Medical Holding Detachment, Fort Campbell, KY on
8 December 1967, there are no available medical records and the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action on 7 November 1967. In the absence of such evidence, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting his 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) AR20140004480
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140004480
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