IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	        5 MAY 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140014856 


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 he believes he should have been awarded the Purple Heart for the gunshot wound he sustained while serving in Vietnam.  He was put in for the Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds that he received to his hand on 28 December 1969, but his comrades were more seriously wounded at the time and he felt he did not deserve the Purple Heart for his injury in comparison to others who were injured.  Therefore, he turned the Purple Heart down.  In hindsight, he was wounded and deserves the award.

3.  The applicant provides two witness statements.

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 records show he enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 4 January 1966.  He served in Vietnam from 24 July 1966 to 14 July 1967.

3.  He was honorably released from active duty on 17 December 1968.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows the:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Vietnam Campaign Medal
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Parachutist Badge
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar

4.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows a blank entry and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show award of the Purple Heart.

5.  His records do not contain any general orders announcing an award of the Purple Heart.

6.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster.

7.  His available medical records do not list a combat injury/wound or treatment.

8.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board's staff reviewed the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S Army Human Resources Command, which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973.  This review failed to reveal orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart. 

9.  He submitted the following documents:

		a.  A statement, dated 13 November 2013, from an individual who indicates he and the applicant were leading an assault on a village in Vietnam when he sustained a gunshot wound to his lower arm.  Once they pulled through enemy lines, T____ R_____, the doc, cleaned and closed up the applicant's wound.  The applicant refused to be air-lifted out for medical attention and remained with his unit to complete the rest of the operation.


		b.  A statement, dated 13 November 2013, from Mr. T__ K____ who states he was assigned with the applicant in Vietnam while assigned Company C, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry.  He indicates he was the medical corpsman and recalls seeing the applicant showing him a wound to his arm or wrist several hours after the action occurred.  The applicant asked him to stitch up the 2 to 2½ inch gash which had stopped bleeding at that time.  Although he advised the applicant it would most likely reopen given the time lapse, he stitched the wound, it reopened the next day or so, and he gave the applicant some antibiotics to help stave off any infection.

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

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for the award.

3.  The criteria for award of 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 treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

4.  The applicant's service in Vietnam and the witness statements he submitted were considered.  However, notwithstanding the witness statements, the criteria for award of the Purple Heart have not been satisfied in this case.

5.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster; his DA Form 20 does not show any combat wounds; and his available medical records do not reflect a combat wound/injury or treatment. 

6.  Again, notwithstanding his 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 the treatment was made a matter of official record there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

___x____  ___x____  ___x____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

Notwithstanding the staff DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS above, the Board determined the evidence of record supports a finding that the applicant was wounded as the result of hostile action and that the wound was treated by medical personnel; however, through no fault of the applicant, the treatment was not documented.  As a matter of equity, the applicant's DA Form 20 should be amended to reflect that he was wounded, he should be awarded the Purple Heart, and his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show the award.



      __________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)                                         AR20140014856





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140014856



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