IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 18 December 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140008021
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 record to show award of the Purple Heart for injuries he received in Vietnam.
2. He states his record should accurately reflect his service in Vietnam.
3. He submitted:
* his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim)
* a self-authored statement
* pictures
* a letter
* a statement
* a hand-drawn map
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 record shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 24 August 1966.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
a. item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in Vietnam from 13 January 1967 to 10 January 1968;
b. item 38 (Record of Assignments) he was assigned to:
(1) C Company, 504th Military Police (MP) Battalion (Airborne) from 1 February to 20 June 1967;
(2) 212th MP Company from 21 June to 9 July 1967;
(3) 180th MP Detachment from 10 July to 14 August 1967; and
(4) 212th MP Company from 15 August 1967 to 9 January 1968.
c. item 40 (Wounds) is blank; and
d. item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not list award of the Purple Heart.
4. On 23 August 1968, he was honorably released from active duty. He had completed 2 years of total active service. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), and two Overseas Service Bars.
5. The Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing does not list the applicant as a casualty.
6. A 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.
7. There are no medical records in his official military personnel file that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam and treated for those wounds.
8. He submitted:
a. A VA Form 21-4138 and allied documents, dated 6 November 2003, wherein he stated he was submitting pictures showing the mortar attack on his base which resulted in a shrapnel wound to his right wrist and his continued flashbacks and memories of this incident.
b. A letter from the Military Order of the Purple Heart, dated 23 July 2003, which states there was no evidence in his record that shows he was treated for a shrapnel wound to his right hand during his military service.
c. A statement from a former service member who indicates he may have served with applicant in Vietnam, but doesn't remember him.
d. Pictures he indicates are of himself, the base where he was stationed, and the equipment that was damaged during the mortar attack.
e. A drawing that he indicates is the Soc Trang Army Air Field.
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) AR20140008021
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140008021
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