IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 2 December 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140007279
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 he was medically evacuated to Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, CA.
3. The applicant 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 2 March 1965. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 36C (Lineman).
3. He served in the Republic of Vietnam from 15 August 1965 to 9 October 1966 with the 232nd Signal Company.
4. His record contains a DA Form 8-275-3 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet) that shows he was attacked by a Vietnamese civilian and cut across his forearm in two places with a machete on 2 October 1966, while on duty in the Republic of Vietnam. He was subsequently medically evacuated and admitted to Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, CA on 10 October 1966.
5. On 16 August 1967, he was honorably released from active duty. The
DD Form 214 he received does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
6. His 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.
7. 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
8. A review of The Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam Casualty Listing does not show the applicant's name as a casualty.
9. 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.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. To qualify for award of the Purple Heart, a Soldier must sustain a wound while in action against an 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.
2. The applicant's service in the Republic of Vietnam and his sincerity are not in question. However, evidence shows he was attacked by a Vietnamese civilian and cut across his forearm in two places with a machete. His record contains insufficient evidence that confirms he was wounded as a result of enemy action (instead of just an unstable, but not enemy, civilian) or that he was treated for a combat-related wound or injury.
3. 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 or to add it to his DD Form 214.
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.
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140007279
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