IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 January 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140008241
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 Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states:
a. His commanding officer ordered all personnel to spend 1 week in the field with an infantry line company to qualify for award of the CIB. They performed perimeter guard, night patrols, and ambushes.
b. On 28 September 1966, he was hit by a concussion grenade when a truck ran over a booby trap and it blew him off his feet and onto the ground.
c. He has been tested for traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Department of Veterans Affairs in Iowa City determined he has a TBI from the concussion grenade incident.
d. Fellow Soldiers involved in the same incidents received these awards.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214
* Honorable Discharge Certificate
* two eyewitness statements
* another Soldier's DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards)
* letter from a Member of Congress, dated 24 April 2014
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 23 November 1965. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows:
* he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 63B (wheel vehicle mechanic) on 25 April 1966
* he served in MOS 63B while assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in Vietnam from 15 September 1966 to 5 September 1967
3. On 7 September 1967, he was honorably released from active duty.
4. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded or authorized the:
* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16)
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
5. There are no orders for the Purple Heart or CIB in the available records.
6. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart or CIB as authorized awards.
7. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
8. He provided an eyewitness statement from D____ L____, a fellow Soldier during the time in question, dated 10 September 2005, who attested that:
* their platoon went into a village to find bricks for their motor pool floor on 28 September 1966
* the applicant was hit by a concussion grenade when a truck ran over a booby trap
* the concussion hit the applicant so hard that it blew him off his feet and onto the ground
9. He also provided an undated eyewitness statement and a DA Form 1577 from D____ M____, another fellow Soldier during the time in question, who attested that:
* between September 1966 and September 1967, he and the applicant served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in Vietnam
* they were in the motor pool platoon
* their commanding officer ordered all personnel to spend 1 week in the field with an infantry line company to qualify for the CIB
* they also performed perimeter guard, night patrols, and ambushes
* he was awarded the CIB
* he believes the applicant is eligible for award of the CIB
10. The DA Form 1577 pertaining to D____ M____ shows he was authorized award of the CIB.
11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states there are basically three requirements for award of the CIB. The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat.
12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that 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 governing regulation for award of the CIB clearly establishes that the CIB may be awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS. They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.
2. The applicant contends he was ordered to spend 1 week in the field with an infantry line company to qualify for the CIB and they performed perimeter guard, night patrols, and ambushes.
3. There is no evidence of record showing he held or served in an infantry MOS or served in active ground combat while assigned as a member of an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size. Regrettably, in the absence of such evidence of record, the eyewitness statements provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for adding award of the CIB to his DD Form 214.
4. He contends he was hit by a concussion grenade in Vietnam when a truck ran over a booby trap and it blew him off his feet and onto the ground.
5. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:
* the wound as the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by military medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
6. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. There is also no evidence in the available records showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam. In the absence of orders for the Purple Heart or any other official corroborating evidence, the statement provided by the applicant alone is insufficient as a basis for adding the Purple Heart 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 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) AR20140008241
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140008241
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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