IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:  9 December 2014	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140006160 


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 and the Bronze Star Medal. 

2.  The applicant states he was wounded by shrapnel in combat in Vietnam.  He was a medic and he dressed his own wounds.  He should have received the Purple Heart.  He still has scars from his wounds.  Additionally, his sergeant told him he would receive the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in combat. 

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge). 

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.  With respect to the applicant's request for award of the Bronze Star Medal, based upon his application, the evidence of record, and accompanying supporting documents he provides, it does not appear he was recommended for or awarded the Bronze Star Medal. 

	a.  Paragraph 2-5, Section II, Army Regulation 15-185, the regulation under which this Board operates, states that the Board will not consider any application if it determines that the member has not exhausted all administrative remedies available to him/her.  There is no evidence that the applicant has submitted a request to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) and was denied relief. 

	b.  Title 10, U.S. Code, (USC) section 1130 allows the Service Secretary concerned to review a proposal for the award of, or upgrading of, a decoration that is otherwise precluded from consideration by limitations established by law or policy.  In order to request an award under Title 10 USC 1130, the applicant must submit a DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award).  The DA Form 638 should clearly identify the applicant's unit, the period of assignment, and the award being recommended.  A narrative of the actions or period for which the member is requesting recognition must accompany the DA Form 638.  In addition, the award request should be supported by sworn affidavits, eyewitness statements, certificates and related documents.  Corroborating evidence is best provided by commanders, leaders, and fellow Soldiers who had personal (i.e., eyewitness) knowledge of the circumstances and events relative to the request.

	c.  Title 10, USC section 1130 also requires that a request of this nature be referred to the Service Secretary from a Member of Congress.   Therefore, the applicant must submit his request through a Member of Congress who will send it to HRC, ATTN: AHRC-PDP-A, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122.  The burden and costs for researching and assembling documentation to support approval of requested awards and decorations rest with the requestor.

	d.  Because he has not submitted his request in accordance with Title 10, USC, section 1130, and has not subsequently been denied relief, his request to this Board for award of the Bronze Star Medal is premature and this issue will not be discussed further in the Record of Proceedings. 

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on                  14 September 1967.  He was trained in and held military occupational specialty 91B (Medical Specialist).

4.  He served in Vietnam from on or about 20 February 1968 to on or about 16 February 1969, where he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division. 

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 12 September 1969.  His    DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart.

6.  There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Nothing in several typical sources show he was wounded/injured as a result of hostile action:

	a.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his contemporaneous DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show a combat wound or injury.  Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9, provided that a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization, would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20.  This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be placed in item 40.

	b.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by HRC, 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.

	c.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster, which is a microfiche listing of Vietnam-era casualties that is used to verify entitlement to the Purple Heart.

	d.  His records do not contain an official Army message or a Western Union telegram notifying his next of kin of an injury or wound.  This was the proper notification of injuries at the time.

	e.  His separation Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) does not list any combat injuries or treatment. 

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against and 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.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:

* injury caused by enemy bullet
* shrapnel
* or other projectile created by enemy action
* injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap
* injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent
* injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire and/or concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The criteria for the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The applicant's service record is void of any documentary evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of combat.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.  His separation physical does not list a combat injury.  There is nothing in multiple typical sources that confirm he was wounded as a result of hostile action or that he required treatment by medical personnel.

3.  The applicant's contention and sincerity are not in question; however, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary 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 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)                                         AR20140006160





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140006160



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