IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 23 June 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140017625
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 for injuries he sustained during infantry combat missions in Vietnam.
2. He states:
a. He received three qualifying injuries during infantry combat activity in Vietnam, but did not receive the Purple Heart for those injuries.
b. The first was bamboo shrapnel in his arms when AK-47 rounds hit the bamboo above him during a firefight with the North Vietnamese Army. He was treated by a field medic; therefore, there are no records of this injury.
c. The second was shrapnel in his back when a rocket-propelled grenade hit a tree right behind him during a firefight that eventually perforated his colon which had to be removed. He was treated in a hospital in Colorado that no longer exists so, there are no records.
d. The third wound is the one for which he is applying for correction of his record because a field medic provided a notarized statement regarding the injury he sustained as he jumped out of a helicopter during a combat assault.
e. He stepped on a booby trap and the punji stick went through his boot and foot. He was treated in the field and at the battalion medical station.
f. His injury was infected and was not completely healed for more than 20 years after his discharge.
3. He submitted:
* his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* a notarized statement
* two pictures
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 17 June 1969. He served in Vietnam from 11 June 1970 to 4 May 1971.
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:
* item 38 (Record of Assignments), he was assigned to
* Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, from 21 June to 7 July 1970
* Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, from 8 July 1970 to 27 April 1971
* item 40 (Wounds), no entry for wounds received in action
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations), no entry for the Purple Heart
4. On 4 May 1971, he was honorably released from active duty. He completed 1 year, 10 months, and 18 days of total active service. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.
5. He submitted:
a. A statement from an individual who indicates he was a medic in the applicant's unit. This individual indicates the applicant was treated for wounds he sustained when they emerged from a helicopter during a combat mission and he stepped on a punji-stick. This individual also indicates the applicant was treated by a medic on a helicopter and at a battalion aid station.
b. Unannotated and undated pictures of a booby trap, Soldiers, and a helicopter.
6. The Vietnam casualty listing does not list the applicant as a casualty.
7. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, 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.
8. There are no medical records in his official military personnel file that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam and treated for such wounds.
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. The third party statement provide by the applicant is duly noted. However, there is no corroborating evidence of record showing he was injured or wounded as a result of enemy action, that the wound required medical treatment, and the treatment was made a matter of official record. The applicant's name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting 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) AR20140017625
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140017625
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