IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 7 July 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140019733
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. He states he was injured in a helicopter crash while in Vietnam.
3. He provides:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or
Discharge)
* Medical Record Progress Notes
* letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), dated 13 February 2003
* Appeal Docket, dated 14 March 2008
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 military records are not available to the ABCMR for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered based on the documents provided by the applicant.
3. On 23 September 1958, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army after being credited with 1 month and 21 days of other service. He served 11 months in the Republic of Vietnam. He was honorably discharged on 1 October 1964 and credited with completing 6 years and 9 days of total active service.
4. His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing.
5. Item 27 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of his DD Form 214 contains the entry "None." He did not provide any documents that show he sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.
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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
7. The applicant provided a self-authored letter to the VA, dated 13 February 2003, in which he provided a synopsis of his military career and his duties and responsibilities as a helicopter pilot. In his letter, he explained that he had nothing further to add to his claim for service connection for low back injury with multilevel degenerative disease and stenosis of the lumbar spine. He said he flew helicopters at Fort Huachuca, AZ and in Vietnam. He added that he provided pictures of the helicopters that were involved in crashes: one in Arizona from engine failure and one in Vietnam from enemy fire. He concluded that his back problems stem from his service connected injuries.
8. On 14 March 2008, the VA granted the applicant service connection for low back disability. The claim docket stated, in pertinent part, that the applicant reported that while piloting a combat mission in Vietnam in June 1962, his helicopter sustained heavy damage from gunfire and he was forced to make a hard landing without engine power. The applicant's service record showed he served in Vietnam from June 1962 to May 1963 and piloted in several combat missions where he made safe landings despite the helicopters sustaining heavy gunfire.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The VA claim document stated the applicant's record shows he piloted in several combat missions where he made safe landings despite the helicopters sustaining heavy gunfire. There is no medical evidence available which shows the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in Vietnam. Additionally, his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing. Therefore, in the absence of such evidence, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding 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) AR20140019733
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140019733
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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