IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 April 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140015034
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, correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show he was wounded in action and received the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he was wounded in Vietnam on 26 October 1966. Two other Soldiers were also injured in the attack. He received at least four pieces of shrapnel in his left lower leg. His platoon leader held him back when the other two Soldiers were evacuated because he was the radio operator and could not be spared. The company medic treated him and changed his bandages daily. At a recent reunion he spoke with the other two wounded Soldiers and the medic and they were all surprised that he had not received the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) and a statement from a medic.
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 service medical and dental records are believed to be on permanent loan to the Department of Veterans Affairs and are not available for review.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 21 October 1965. He completed the training requirements and he was awarded military occupational specialty 11C (Indirect Fire Crewman). He was assigned to Vietnam from 2 August 1966 through 16 March 1967. On 17 March 1967, he was honorably released from active duty and returned to the United States Army Reserve, due to hardship.
4. The applicant's awards are shown as the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14 and M-16).
5. A statement the applicant provided shows the author of the statement claims he was a combat medic in Vietnam and personally treated the applicant for a left leg wound, due to a fire fight.
6. 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 Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, and the Vietnam Casualty List failed to reference the applicant.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), paragraph 2-8 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded to an individual who is wounded in action or as a result of enemy action against an enemy of the United States, the armed force of a foreign country which is or has been engaged, or while serving with a friendly foreign forces against an opposing force even though the U.S. is not engaged. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
8. Army Regulation 15185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. Paragraph 2-9 states that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The statements of individuals are inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment. However, they are normally accepted as a substantiation of the combat or the enemy origin of a wound for which there is a record of treatment.
2. The available record contains no documentation to support the applicant's contention that he received a wound that was the result of hostile action. Without a record of treatment for a wound sustained as the result of enemy action entitlement to the Purple Heart cannot be established.
3. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.
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) AR20140015034
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140015034
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