IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  14 May 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140017451 


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:

	a.  During his tour in Vietnam, he was wounded in a firefight.  He does not remember the exact date but it happened between 22 May and 15 November 1970. 

	b.  He cannot tell whether he was in Vietnam or Cambodia during the firefight.  His unit operated in both countries.

	c.  To assist in determining the date of the firefight, although he and his unit were involved in numerous firefights, mortar attacks, and ambushes by the Viet Cong as well as the North Vietnamese Army, he made efforts to gain access to what has been described to him as his unit records.  After a number of attempts, and knowing he would only be guessing as to during which firefight the wound occurred, he pretty much gave up those efforts.

	d.  He was wounded by shrapnel in his lower hip, upper thigh area, as shown by the x-ray he has enclosed.  It shows as a white object next to his upper right thigh bone (femur).

	e.  He is sure the Board needs to know why he is submitting this claim so late, given the usual 3-year time limit.  His best answer is that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  He is not sure if any of the Board members are personally familiar with the symptoms of PTSD, but one of them is that the sufferer just will not talk about the combat or traumatic event.  

	f.  He was in Vietnam 44 years ago.  He has three grown children and he has never talked to them about his combat experience.  He never talks to his friends about it and he rarely admits to anyone that he is combat veteran.  He was finally convinced to apply for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits in the fall of 2013.

	g.  He was drafted in 1969 and he was assigned to an infantry unit.  He did not volunteer for anything.  Unfortunately, during the firefight described above, he received a puncture wound.  He did not discover it until after that particular firefight was over.  He was very sore, like someone hit him in the hip/thigh area with a baseball bat.  He was not medically evacuated by helicopter.  He just kept going.  He gave it as little thought as possible.

	h.  Approximately 10 or so years ago, he needed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for an unrelated condition.  Before he was given the MRI, the nurse asked if he had any metal implants.  She explained that an MRI is created by a large magnet and it would possibly heat up or pull on any metal implants.  He told her that he might have some shrapnel from Vietnam in his thigh.  He was given an x-ray.  It showed the shrapnel.  The radiologist stated that he could still have the MRI so he paid it no mind. 

	i.  At that time he still avoided anything to do with the Army, the VA, and his service in Vietnam.  He just did not talk about it.  In the fall of 2013, a friend of his talked him into signing up with the VA.  His friend convinced him he could get some discounts as a veteran and since he was thinking about retirement, he followed his advice.  He also shared that he received a diabetes disability based on Agent Orange exposure.  His friend stated there were a number of disabilities the VA would recognize as service-connected.  At his suggestion, he went on the VA website.  It did not appear that he had anything that would be recognized as a service-connected disability.

	j.  PTSD is not mentioned on the VA website, at least it was not apparent to him.  He went to the local VA facility and he signed up as a veteran.  In order to do that, he had to bring his DD 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).  That is when it all started.  He opened the fireproof strongbox they keep all their important records in.  He pulled out his DD 214, his draft notice from 1969, and a check stub for a check for $50 he received from the City of Southfield, Ml, for his service in Vietnam.


	k.  There is no way he can adequately describe the overwhelming emotions that came over him when he pulled out those documents.  He could barely breathe.  He started crying.  He knew he would never be able to get his Vietnam experience back in the box.

	l.  He has been seeing a private psychiatrist and he has been on medication for depression for 10 years, all at his own expense.  He never thought to go to the VA.  He knew nothing about the VA and he did not want to know anything about the VA.  He never explained to his psychiatrist about his Vietnam experience.  He was treated for a mood disorder.

	m.  He did find the strength to go to the VA to sign up as a veteran.  It may sound silly, but he almost could not make himself pull into the VA hospital parking lot.  He had already talked to his psychiatrist about the VA and based on his reactions, he prescribed additional anti-depressant medication.  When he signed up for VA benefits, it was his intent to find out how to apply for the Purple Heart.  He just thought he deserved one.  He was not looking for any benefits.  As he previously stated, he did not know there was such a thing as PTSD disability. 

	n.  In order to see about getting the Purple Heart, he went upstairs at the VA hospital and he met with an American Legion Service Officer.  He asked him about the Purple Heart but he was not encouraging.  The service officer stated he would need witnesses, unit records, etc., to make a claim and in any event, it would not affect his VA rating.  He was very disappointed and discouraged.  He had shown him the DD 214 and he mentioned that he might qualify for a PTSD disability in light of his Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

	o.  He followed the service officer's suggestion and he tried to obtain his unit records.  He doubted they would help.  He cannot remember anyone's name.  He does not even know who their company commander was at that time. 

	p.  As he stated before, he pretty much gave up on the unit records and witnesses.  What he can show as evidence is the enclosed copies of letters he received just prior to the wound.  What happened was that his friend from high school was teaching a first grade class, and for a class assignment she had her students write encouraging /supportive letters to him.  Then she put all those letters, red construction paper, in one envelope and sent them to him.  He put the letters in a plastic bag and then put them in his right pants pocket.  The shrapnel went through all the letters and punctured his leg.  He made copies of the letters and of the front and back of the large envelope.   As you can see, all the letters were pierced by the shrapnel.

	q.  He hopes the Board can understand this explanation and see what he is talking about.  He realizes that this request is probably from before some of the Board members were even born.  He asked everyone at the VA how to go about submitting his request and to whom and how the request should be made.  After multiple discussions, the service officer suggested this approach.  He sincerely asks for consideration and if the Board just cannot grant his request, he would very much appreciate any suggestion from the Board as to where else he might submit his request.

3.  The applicant provides a DD Form 214, copy of a mailing envelope postmarked 22 May 1970, copies of correspondence he received while in Vietnam, and copies of two x-ray images.

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 25 June 1969.  He was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman) upon completion of initial entry training.  

3.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 13 December 1969 to 15 November 1970.  Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.

4.  There is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was treated for a combat-related wound.

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 26 March 1971.  His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the CIB.  It does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  A review of the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division's Vietnam Casualty Roster does not show the applicant's name as a combat casualty.

7.  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 orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.

8.  He provided a copy of a mailing envelope postmarked 22 May 1970, copies of correspondence he received while in Vietnam, and copies of two x-ray images.  These documents do not conclusively show he was wounded as a result of hostile actions or that he received treatment for any injuries related to his service in Vietnam. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart has been carefully considered.  

2.  His DA Form 20 contains no entries that indicate he was wounded in action and there is no evidence in his military records that indicates he was treated for a combat-related wound.  His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.  The governing regulation requires that substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the injury was the result of hostile action and that the injury required treatment by medical personnel.  There is no such evidence in the applicant's military records.

3.  The applicant's contentions and the evidence he submitted were carefully reviewed and considered; however, in the absence of evidence showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action, that he received medical treatment for such injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is insufficient evidence available to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis to grant the applicant's requested relief.  
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)                                         AR20140017451



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140017451



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