IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 August 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150001009
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 sustained in combat.
2. The applicant states, in effect, he sustained injuries for which he should have been awarded the Purple Heart. He arrived in Vietnam in November 1965 and he was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry. He served in Operation Masher from 24 January through 17 February 1966. He served in the battle of Cu Nghi and this is where he believes he was wounded in January 1966. He was wounded in his left arm and right shoulder by a punji stick and was treated by a medic. He still has the physical scars this injury caused.
3. The applicant provides copies of the following:
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214)
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 the cases 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.
2. The applicant's military records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 24 June 1965 and he held military occupational specialty 11B (light weapons infantryman).
3. He served in Vietnam from 28 November 1965 through on or about 27 November 1966. He was assigned to:
* Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, from 9 through 16 December 1965
* Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, from 17 December 1965 through on or about 27 November 1966
4. A Standard Form (SF) 89 (Report of Medical History) shows he underwent a physical examination on 16 May 1967 for the purpose of separation. He indicated on the form that he was in good health and did not indicate he had sustained any injuries/wounds during his period of service.
5. An SF 88 (Report of Medical Examination) does not indicate he sustained any injuries/wounds during his period of service and he was found qualified for separation.
6. He was honorably released from active duty on 23 June 1967 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group. He was credited with completing 2 years of net active service and 1 year of foreign service.
7. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows no entry in Item 40 (Wounds) indicating he was wounded in action while serving in Vietnam
8. His records contain a Department of Veterans Affairs Form 21-526 (Veteran's Application for Compensation and Pension), dated 23 June 1967, wherein he stated he had contracted malaria on or about 26 September 1966 while stationed in Vietnam.
9. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster.
10. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders for award of the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.
11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Award) states the:
a. Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of enemy 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.
b. When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for the award.
c. Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:
(1) Injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.
(2) Injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap.
12. The punji stick is a type of booby trapped stake. It is a stick mounted vertically in the ground with a sharpened point at the top, typically placed in a pit in the ground to impale the unwary. Punji sticks were not necessarily meant to kill the man who stepped on it. It was a guerilla tactic to wound an enemy and slow his entire unit down rather than killing him. Punji traps were used extensively by the Viet Cong in Vietnam.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. There is no evidence of record and the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to show he sustained a wound/injury as a result of a punji stick, received treatment, and that treatment was made a matter of official record for award of the Purple Heart during his period of service in Vietnam. Additionally, his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster and a review of ADCARS did not reveal orders awarding him the Purple Heart.
2. By regulation, to be awarded the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded or injured in action. There must be evidence confirming the wound for which the award is being made was received as a direct result of, or was caused by enemy action, that the wound was treated by medical personnel, and a record of this treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
3. Notwithstanding his contentions and his sincerity, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base awaARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140012332
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