IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 13 November 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140006764
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 the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states that with all the confusion and his medical evacuation, his wound, which was minor compared to the rest, was lost in the shuffle and it did not make it to his file.
3. The applicant did not provide 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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 25 July 1967.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 14 January 1968 to 13 January 1969. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
4. There is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was treated for a combat-related wound.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 24 July 1970. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
6. A review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam Casualty Listing does not show the applicant's name as a combat casualty.
7. 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.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or 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's contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart has been carefully considered.
2. His DA Form 20 contains no entries indicating he was wounded in action and there is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was treated for a combat-related wound. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing. The governing regulation requires that substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the injury was the result of hostile action and that the injury required treatment by medical personnel. There is no such evidence in the applicant's military records.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis to grant 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) AR20140006764
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140006764
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