BOARD DATE:	  15 October 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150003302 


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 the award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect:

* he was wounded by shrapnel during his service in Vietnam
* he feels he should have received the Purple Heart at the time
* his efforts to receive this award have been unsuccessful thus far
* his service medical record should show treatment

3.  The applicant provides:

* Standard Form (SF) 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care)
* letter, dated 17 November 1970, prepared by the applicant
* extract from the applicant's personal diary

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.  While service records for subsequent periods of service in the Regular Army and the Army National Guard are available, the records covering the applicant's service in Vietnam are not accessible for review.  There is, however, a DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 8 February 1969.  This document provides sufficient basis to adjudicate the applicant's request.

3.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 February 1966.

4.  He was honorably released from active duty on 8 February 1969.  His 
DD Form 214 shows he completed 2 years, 11 months, and 23 days of net active creditable service. 

	a.  Foreign and/or Sea Service shows U.S. Army Pacific Command, but does not identify the period of service.  

	b.  The narrative reason for separation was overseas returnee.  His last duty of assignment was listed as 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army Vietnam. 

	c.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) does not show the award of the Purple Heart.  The awards listed are:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Air Medal
* Bronze Star Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
* two overseas service bars

5.  His available service records include a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 07-3101 (Request for Information), dated 14 December 1970, which identified an alleged injury as a mortar fragmentation wound incurred in the spring of 1968 and treated at the dispensary, Camp Evans, Vietnam.  Apart from this, there is no other evidence in his available record which would affirm he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action, or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Additionally, typical sources do not indicate he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.

	a.  His name is not shown on the Vietnam casualty listing.  This is a listing of Vietnam-era casualties commonly used to verify entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.

	b.  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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Purple Heart pertaining to the applicant.  It does, however, show he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during the period February 1968 to February 1969 while assigned to Troop C, 1st Squadron (Airmobile), 9th Cavalry Regiment.

6.  Medical documents available in later service records make no mention of being wounded while serving in Vietnam.

7.  The applicant provides:

	a.  An SF 600 which contains an entry, apparently dated 20 May 1968, shows the following: 

* Aid Station, 1/9th
* diagnostic impression, abrasion on the buttocks from frag
* treatment was a bandage
* it is signed by a Medical Corps captain

	b.  A letter, dated 17 November 1970, prepared by the applicant, which essentially stated:

* he was sworn into active duty on 16 February 1966, took basic combat training at Fort Polk, LA and advanced helicopter training at Fort Eustis, VA
* he was first sent overseas to Verona, Italy, then on to Vietnam
* he returned to the United States on 8 February 1969; he separated from the Army at Fort Lewis, WA
* while at Fort Lewis, a group of men who were being released from active duty filed claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
* he submitted a claim for a fungus infection and for a motor [sic, mortar] fragmentation wound

* there was a big explosion in camp caused by hostile forces; he was wounded in this explosion and his wound drew blood
* he tried to have the Purple Heart awarded for this wound but was unsuccessful
* while he was hospitalized, he contacted a representative from the American Legion and learned there was no record of his VA claim
* he subsequently reenlisted on 6 September 1969 and was released from this period of service on 24 June 1970; during this period of service, he incurred an anterior urethral lesion

	c.  An extract from the applicant's personal diary, with an entry apparently dated 20 May 1968 (shows May 20 8141 (8141 is Julian Calendar date showing the year as "8" and 141st day of the year; this equates to 20 May based on 1968 being a leap year)).  The applicant states, in summary:

* woke up 0530 hours
* walked to 229 area to pick up their aircraft (a/c)
* all a/c were damaged from the three big explosions that occurred the night before
* went to see a doctor because he had a shrapnel wound on his buttocks

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, 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 medical treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. All three of these prerequisites must be met in order for a Soldier to receive to this award.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart for a shrapnel wound incurred while he served in Vietnam.  In support of his request he provides the following evidence:

	a.  An SF 600 showing treatment of a wound on his buttocks.  

		(1)  Because the entry appears on an official military medical form which is often used to document injuries and treatment, and because it suggests his wound was caused by shrapnel, it seems to fulfill the requirements for showing medical treatment in official records.  

		(2)  Unfortunately, the entry includes no details that could be used to independently confirm the shrapnel resulted from hostile action.

	b.  A letter written by the applicant 2 years after the event which describes his efforts to file a claim with the VA.  The letter is not sufficient to be considered a substitute for the regulatory requirement for the medical treatment of the wound being made a matter of official record.

	c.  An entry in the applicant's personal diary, apparently made at the time of the event.  As with the letter described above, is not sufficient to be considered a substitute for the regulatory requirement for the medical treatment of the wound being made a matter of official record.

2.  The available evidence contains a VA Form wherein the VA is requesting information to support alleged injuries identified by the applicant.  This only serves to confirm that, in 1970, the applicant was seeking VA recognition of an injury.  It does not constitute confirmation that the wound was substantiated by military medical records and verified as being hostile in origin.

3.  The applicant's sincerity is not in question.  At issue is whether the preponderance of the evidence, provided either by the applicant or available in his service record and viewed as a whole, offers sufficient proof he met each of the criteria for the award.  In this specific case, the evidence does not sufficiently affirm the wound received was the result of hostile action.

4.  Based upon the foregoing, the evidence would not be sufficient to support granting the requested relief.  Should the applicant be able to obtain additional evidence (such as unit reports or other official documents made at the time of the event) which would sufficiently verify the wound described on the SF 600 resulted from hostile action, and submit it within 1 year of the date of the Board's decision, his application can be reconsidered.

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)                                         AR20150003302

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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150003302



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