IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 20 August 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150000999
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 he was wounded twice in Vietnam: once by a punji stick below the left eye and another time by numerous shrapnel wounds to his back.
3. The applicant provides no additional evidence.
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 22 March 1967 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). He served in Vietnam from 25 August 1967 to 7 October 1968 while assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, except for the period 11 February to 22 March 1968 when he was reported as absent without leave (AWOL) from his assigned unit.
3. He was honorably released from active duty on 30 April 1969 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. The DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) he was issued does not show award of the Purple Heart.
4. His record is void of orders awarding him the Purple Heart. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank and item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show the Purple Heart.
5. A review of the Adjutant General's Casualty Division's Vietnam casualty listing failed to show his name as a casualty.
6. There is no medical evidence in the applicant's available record that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action during his active duty service.
7. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the Military Awards Branch of 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 orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The criteria for award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify a Soldier received a wound/injury as a result of hostile action, the wound/injury required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
2. Notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, his records are void of any evidence and he did not provide any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster and his DA Form 20 does not indicate he received a combat-related wound. In the absence of conclusive evidence that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, regrettably, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis upon which to award the Purple Heart.
3. Nevertheless, this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
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) AR20150000999
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150000999
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