BOARD DATE:	  17 March 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140013677 


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, in effect, award of the Purple Heart, issuance of the medal and citation, and correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show this award.

2.  The applicant states:

* he served in Vietnam and was wounded in combat
* in February 2014 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) granted him compensation for disabilities derived from shrapnel
* he justly deserves the award

3.  The applicant provides:

* VA documentation, dated 21 February 2014
* DD Form 214

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 12 December 1967.  He served as an infantry indirect fire crewman in Vietnam from July 1968 to July 1969.

3.  Records show he underwent a separation physical examination on 16 July 1969 which makes no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.  His Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History), dated 16 July 1969, shows in:

	a.  item 34 (Have you consulted or been treated by clinics, physicians, healers, or other practitioners within the past 5 years?  (If yes, give complete address of doctor, hospital, clinic, and details)), a check mark in the "Yes" box and the entry "Vietnam."

	b.  item 35 (Have you treated yourself for illnesses other than minor colds?  (If yes, which illnesses)), a check mark in the "Yes" box and the entry "Sharpnel [sic]."

4.  Item 35 (Upper Extremities) of his Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 16 July 1969, shows he was rated as normal.

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 16 July 1969.

6.  His DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

7.  There is no evidence in the available records showing the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.

8.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank.

9.  His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.

10.  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.

11.  He provided a letter from the VA, dated 21 February 2014, which shows the VA determined the following conditions were related to his military service and he was granted a 0-percent evaluation for each disability:

* left elbow strain due to shrapnel (previously claimed residuals of cellulitis, left arm, below elbow and residuals of boil, left elbow)
* scar, left elbow, associated with left elbow strain due to shrapnel (previously claimed residuals of cellulitis, left arm, below elbow and residuals of boil, left elbow)

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends he was wounded in combat in Vietnam.

2.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart and all other awards.  The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, treatment of the wound by military medical personnel, and documentation of the wound in official records

3.  His Standard Form 89, dated 16 July 1969, which shows he reported he sought medical treatment for a shrapnel injury, and the VA documentation were noted.  However, there is no evidence of record and he provided no evidence that definitively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Vietnam or that shows what medical treatment, if any, he received at the time.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence upon which to award him the Purple Heart or add 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)                                         AR20140013677



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140013677



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