IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 April 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140015467 


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 October 1969, during a rocket attack, he sustained an injury on top of his left foot.  Later that night, the medic cleaned it up and he added some stitches.  The medic explained to him that he would receive the Purple Heart.  He was not sure what this award meant at the time.  He now knows and would like it awarded.  Unfortunately, he did not receive the medic's reports and he is hoping someone there can turn them up. 

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) 
* Photographs
* Name change document 

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 on 16 August 1968 and he held military occupational specialty 63C (Track Vehicle Mechanic). 

3.  He served in Vietnam from on or about 21 April 1969 to 3 April 1970.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 40th Artillery, from 23 April 1969 to 7 November 1969 and the 8th Battalion, 4th Artillery, from 8 November 1969 to 1 April 1970. 

4.  He was honorably released from active duty on 13 August 1971.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart. 

5.  There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Nothing in several typical sources shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.

	a.  His medical records are available for review.  He was seen at the battalion aid station in Vietnam on multiple occasions for burning pain to the eye, lumps on the neck, and sore throat.   No injuries as a result of hostile action or treatments are noted. 

	b.  He underwent a separation physical on 21 July 1971 at Fort Sill, OK.  No injury or treatment is listed on his Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) or Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History). 

	c.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show a combat wound or injury.  Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management System), chapter 9, stated a brief description of wounds or injuries (including injury from gas) requiring medical treatment received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization would be entered in item 40 of the DA Form 20.  This regulation further stated that the date the wound or injury occurred would also be placed in item 40.

	d.  His personnel records do not contain an official Army message or a Western Union telegram notifying his next of kin of an injury or wound sustained in action.  This was the proper notification procedure for injuries at the time.

	e.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing.  This is a listing of Vietnam era casualties commonly used to verify entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.

	f.   A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that 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 that 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.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:

* injury caused by enemy bullet
* shrapnel or other projectile created by enemy action
* injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap
* injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent
* injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire and/or concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions

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 documentary evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of combat.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.  There is nothing in multiple typical sources including his medical records that confirm he was wounded as a result of hostile action or that he required treatment by medical personnel.

3.  The applicant's contention and sincerity are not in question.  However, in the absence of documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action and treated for those wounds, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him 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)                                         AR20140015467





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140015467



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