IN THE CASE OF:  	  

		BOARD DATE:  3 September 2015	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150000348 


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, widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of his records to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states:

* she would like the FSM's records to show he was given the Purple Heart for his shrapnel injury
* the FSM has been deceased for 10 years
* he had some kind of injury to his chest before he went to Vietnam
* through the years he had to live with problems with his heart
* in 1969, a terrible mistake and unjust decision was made in this case
* the FSM was not just another number and he deserved some kind of respect and peace for the life he lost to Vietnam through his injury, Agent Orange, and lung cancer
* she is willing to appear before the Board

3.  The applicant provides:

* Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States letter, dated 21 June 1995
* Standard Form 504 (Clinical Record – History)
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* death certificate


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 FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 June 1967.

3.  The FSM served in Vietnam during the period 10 November 1967 through 8 June 1968.  While in Vietnam, he was assigned to Battery C, 7th Battalion, 13th Artillery.

4.  The FSM's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

* item 38 (Record of Assignments) –

* on or about 9 June 1968 – casual status – Medical Hold Detachment, 106th General Hospital, Japan
* on or about 23 June 1968 – patient status – Medical Holding Company, U.S. Army Hospital, Signal and Training Center, Fort Gordon, GA
* on or about 24 June 1968 – patient status – Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC

* item 40 (Wounds) – no entries
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) – no award of the Purple Heart

5.  On 22 January 1969, the FSM was honorably released from active duty.  His DD Form 214 does not list award of the Purple Heart.

6.  The applicant provided a letter from the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, dated 21 June 1995, requesting the FSM's rating decision of 7 April 1969 be declared a clear and unmistakable error in rating his aortic aneurysm not service connected.  This letter states the military did not determine his condition existed prior to service at any time or was possibly related to an automobile accident.  The first time the automobile accident was considered a possible cause was during his Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Compensation and Pension examination and then in the rating decision.  The FSM's aneurysm was discovered after he had bronchitis and started spitting up large amounts of blood.

7.  The applicant provided a Standard Form 504 showing the FSM was treated for chest pain on 11 October 1993 at the Kershaw County Hospital, SC.  This form states, in part, his medical history shows significant thoracic aortic aneurysm repair in 1968 for a 2-inch shrapnel injury.  A handwritten note in the bottom margin indicates the form was from the VA Medical Center in Charleston, SC.

8.  The FSM's records contain:

	a.  Standard Forms 180 (Requests Pertaining to Military Records), dated 16 November 1994 and 12 December 1996, showing the FSM requested copies of his personnel and medical records for a service-connection claim with the VA. 
In his requests, he indicated:

        (1)  he requested a copy of the certificate for award of the Purple Heart for wounds he received in Vietnam; and

        (2)  he was wounded in Vietnam, airlifted to a field hospital, evacuated to Japan and to Augusta, GA, and underwent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for a thoracic aortic aneurysm.

	b.  A computer-generated request from the VA to the National Personnel Records Center, dated 10 May 1995, requesting the FSM's personnel/medical records with a handwritten entry stating, "No record of wound received in Vietnam on file."

9.  The FSM's records are void of and the applicant failed to provide medical evidence showing the FSM was injured as a result of hostile action while serving in Vietnam or his treatment records from Japan, Fort Gordon, or Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

10.  The FSM's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster, a listing of Soldiers who were killed, wounded, sick, captured, or missing during their service in Vietnam and indicating whether the condition was battle or non-battle related.


11.  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 pertaining to the FSM for award of the Purple Heart.

12.  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 the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

13.  Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records), considers individual applications that are properly brought before it.  The ABCMR may, in its discretion, hold a hearing or request additional evidence or opinions.  Applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR.  The Director or the ABCMR may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant requested to personally appear before the Board, there is sufficient evidence available for fair and impartial consideration of the case without such an appearance.

2.  Award of the Purple Heart requires evidence to verify:

* the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records

3.  The FSM's name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty roster and the medical documentation associated with his treatment in Japan, Fort Gordon, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center was not provided by the applicant or filed in the FSM's records.

4.  Although the applicant provided a Standard Form 504 showing the FSM was treated for chest pain in 1993 which states his medical history showed significant thoracic aortic aneurysm repair in 1968 for a 2-inch shrapnel injury, there is no evidence showing the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action.  Regrettably, the Standard Form 504 provided by the applicant is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart to the FSM in this case.


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 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)                                         AR20150000348



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150000348



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