BOARD DATE: 10 March 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140013253
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.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in combat and evacuated from the area; however, his medical paperwork was lost for that period of time.
3. The applicant provides an eyewitness statement and a statement from himself.
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. On 7 July 1967, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army. After completing initial entry training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 62B (Engineer Equipment Repairman).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
* item 31 (Foreign Service) he was credited with service in Vietnam from
9 February 1968 to 8 February 1969
* item 40 (Wounds) no entry indicating he was wounded as a result of hostile action
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) no entry for the Purple Heart
4. On 6 July 1970, he was honorably released from active duty. His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart.
5. His service medical records are not available for review.
6. A review of his record failed to reveal orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
7. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.
8. 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 Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders awarding the Purple Heart to him.
9. He provides two witness statements. He stated that on 1 January 1969 he was making repairs on disabled equipment when a fellow Soldier tripped a land mine seriously injuring him and himself. They were both evacuated to Long Binh. The second witness recounts the same incident and noted that the applicant was hit in his back by shrapnel.
10. His official military personnel file is void of documentation showing he was wounded as a result of enemy action.
11. 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 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 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 evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of combat. The witness statements he provides details the incident that resulted in the applicant's injury; however, there is no conclusive evidence that the wound was caused by the enemy and there are no service medical records to show treatment.
3. Notwithstanding his contention and sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds and treatment for those wounds made a matter of record there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of 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) AR20140013253
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140013253
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