DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2005-031 
 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. 
xxxxxxxxxxxx, GM2 (former) 
   

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
Author:  Hale, D. 
 
 
This is a proceeding under the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and section 
425 of title 14 of the United States Code.  It was docketed on December 1, 2004, upon the 
BCMR’s receipt of the applicant’s request for correction. 
 
 
members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This final decision, dated August 11, 2005, is signed by the three duly appointed 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 

The applicant asked the Board to correct his military record to show that he was 
awarded  a  Purple  Heart  for  an  injury  to  his  right  knee  during  his  enlistment  from 
September 13, 1965, to September 12, 1969.  He alleged that he injured his right knee on 
March 1, 1968, while serving as a gunners mate on the Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Point 
Grey in the Republic of Vietnam.  The applicant alleged that he injured his knee when 
the  concussion  from  an  exploding  enemy  vessel  knocked  him  off  his  feet  and  into  a 
mortar  box.    He  further  alleged  that  he  did  not  pursue  a  Purple  Heart  for  his  injury 
earlier because “at the time I was bitter and felt it was no big deal.  Now, 36 years later I 
feel I deserve it.”  
 

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICANT’S RECORDS 

 

The  applicant  enlisted  in  the  Coast  Guard  on  September  13,  1965.    After 
completing training, he was assigned to the CGC Campbell in Staten Island, New York.  

He was sent to Vietnam in April 1967 and was assigned as a gunners mate on the Point 
Grey in June 1967.  According to award citations in the applicant’s military record and 
other documents in the record, in the early morning hours of March 1, 1968, the Point 
Grey encountered an enemy trawler approximately 60 miles off the coast of Da Nang, 
Republic  of  Vietnam.    The  Point  Grey  engaged  the  trawler  with  its  forward  mount 
machine guns and encountered heavy return fire from the trawler’s automatic weapons.  
As  a  gunners  mate,  the  applicant  provided  support  to  the  .50  caliber  gunner  while 
engaging  the  enemy  and  continued  to  provide  support  when  the  forward  mount 
personnel switched to mortar fire.  The award citation indicates that when the trawler 
finally exploded from sustained machine gun and mortar fire from the Point Grey, the 
concussion knocked him off his feet and into a mortar box. 

 
The applicant’s military record contains detailed accounts of his conduct during 
this incident.  On March 6, 1968, the applicant’s Commanding Officer (CO) issued him a 
letter of appreciation, commending the applicant for his actions during the encounter 
with the enemy trawler.  The brief letter did not mention that the applicant had been 
injured during the encounter.  On December 7, 1968, the Commander of Coast Guard 
Activities, Vietnam, recommended that the applicant receive a Bronze Star medal for his 
heroic service on March 1, 1968.  The award recommendation contains a comprehensive 
account of the applicant’s exploits aboard the Point Grey during its encounter with the 
enemy trawler.  The Division Commander who wrote the recommendation stated in his 
“summary of action” that the enemy trawler  

 
exploded  and  the  tremendous  resultant  concussion  wave  knocked  [the 
applicant]  off  his  feet  and  into  the  mortar  box.    Although  stunned  and 
hurt,  [the  applicant]  immediately  reassumed  his  position  at  the  mortar 
where he prepared illumination rounds until the action secured at 0330H.   
 
The Division Commander concluded by stating: 
 
[The  applicant’s]  exceptional  professionalism,  calm  and  courage  during 
this action reflected great credit upon himself and his unit, providing an 
outstanding  inspirational  example  to  Point  Grey’s  other  crew  members, 
and  were  in  the  highest  traditions  of  the  Coast  Guard  and  the  United 
States Naval Services. 

 

On December 23, 1968, the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with 
Combat  “V”  for  his  “heroic  achievement  while  serving  with  Market  Time  Forces 
engaged  in  armed  conflict  against  the  North  Vietnamese  and  Viet  Cong  communist 
aggressors in the [R]epublic of Vietnam on March 1, 1968, while serving on board the 
CGC Point Grey.”  The award citation issued to the applicant by the Commander of the 
U.S.  Naval  Forces,  Vietnam,  on  behalf  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  indicates 
that  “although  injured,  [the  applicant]  immediately  resumed  his  mount  position  and 

continued  preparing  illumination  rounds  until  the  conclusion  of  the  action.”    The 
applicant’s military record does not contain any documents that indicate he was treated 
for a knee injury sustained in March 1968.   
 

On September 12, 1969, the applicant was honorably discharged from the Coast 
Guard.  At the time of his discharge, it was noted that he had earned and was entitled to 
wear  the  National  Defense  Service  Medal,  Bronze  Star  Medal  with  Combat  “V”, 
Vietnam  Service  Medal  with  4  Bronze  Stars,  and  the  Vietnam  Campaign  Medal  with 
Device.    

 
 
 

APPLICABLE LAW 

 
The  Coast  Guard  Medals  and  Awards  Manual,  COMDTINST  M1650.25B, 
 
establishes  Coast  Guard  policy  and  provides  detailed 
the 
administration  of  the  military  decorations  and  awards  programs  of  the  Coast  Guard.  
Article 2.B.11.b. of the manual states that the Commandant is authorized to award the 
Purple Heart Medal in the name of the President to any member of the Coast Guard or 
to  any  member  of  an  Armed  Force  under  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Department  of 
Transportation or to any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under 
competent authority in any capacity with the Coast Guard, has been, or may hereafter 
be wounded or killed: 
 

instructions 

for 

(1) In any action against an enemy of the United States; 

(2) In any action with an opposing Armed Force of a foreign country in which the 
Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged; 
 
(3)  While  serving  with  friendly  foreign  forces  engaged  in  an  armed  conflict 
against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent 
party; 

(4) As the result of an act of any such enemy or opposing Armed Force; 

(5) The result of an act of any hostile foreign force; 

(6) As the indirect result of enemy action, as for example injuries resulting from 
parachuting from a plane brought down by enemy or hostile fire; or 

(7) As the result of maltreatment inflicted by captors while a prisoner of war. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The manual further states that a "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of 
the body from an outside force or agent, sustained while in action as described in the 
criteria.    Finally,  the  manual  states  that  except  in  the  case  of  a  prisoner  of  war,  the 
wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer.  
Only one award is authorized for more than one wound or injury received at the same 
instant  from  the  same  missile,  force,  explosion,  or  agent.    Awards  will  be  made  by 
reason of frostbite, malnutrition, dysentery, and exhaustion. 

 
Article 1.A.2.h. of the Coast Guard Medals and Awards Manual states that only 
one award of a personal military decoration will be made for the same act, achievement, 
or period of meritorious service. 
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On  April  7,  2005,  the  Judge  Advocate  General  (JAG)  of  the  Coast  Guard 
submitted  an  advisory  opinion  in  which  he  adopted  the  findings  of  the  Coast  Guard 
Personnel Command (CGPC) in a memorandum on the case and recommended that the 
Board deny the applicant’s request.   
 

The  JAG  stated  that  there  is  “insufficient  evidence  available  in  the  material 
provided  by  applicant  and  in  his  service  record  to  overcome  the  presumption  of 
regularity  afforded  the  government”  and  did  not  support  awarding  the  applicant  a 
Purple Heart.  CGPC noted that there was “no evidence in the record that the applicant 
sustained any injury substantial enough to require attention from a medical officer as a 
result of his actions on March 1, 1968.” 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On April 13, 2005, the Chair sent a copy of the views of the Coast Guard to the 

applicant and invited him to respond within 30 days.  No response was received. 
 

 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

 
The  Board  makes  the  following  findings  and  conclusions  on  the  basis  of  the 
 
applicant's military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and appli-
cable law: 
 

The  Board  has  jurisdiction  concerning  this  matter  pursuant  to  10  U.S.C. 

1. 
§ 1552.   
 

2. 

An application to the Board must be filed within three years of the day the 
applicant discovers the alleged error in his record.  10 U.S.C. § 1552(b).  The applicant 
was discharged in 1969 and knew or should have known that he had not received the 

Purple  Heart  at  that  time.    Therefore,  the  Board  finds  that  the  application  was  filed 
more than 33 years after the statute of limitations expired and is untimely. 

 
3. 

Under 10 U.S.C. § 1552(b), the Board may waive the three-year statute of 
limitations if it is in the interest of justice to do so.  In Allen v. Card, 799 F. Supp. 158, 164 
(D.D.C. 1992), the court stated that in assessing whether the interest of justice supports a 
waiver of the statute of limitations, the Board “should analyze both the reasons for the 
delay  and  the  potential  merits  of  the  claim  based  on  a  cursory  review.”    The  court 
further instructed that “the longer the delay has been and the weaker the reasons are for 
the delay, the more compelling the merits would need to be to justify a full review.”  Id. 
at 164, 165.   See also Dickson v. Secretary of Defense, 68 F.3d 1396 (D.C. Cir. 1995).  
 

4. 

 The applicant provided no explanation for his failure to request the cor-
rection  of  the  alleged  error  in  his  record  at  an  earlier  date,  except  to  describe  his 
previous attitude as “bitter”.  However, a cursory review of the record indicates that the 
applicant served meritoriously and that his request for a Purple Heart has substantial 
merit.  Therefore, the Board finds that it is in the interest of justice to waive the three-
year statute of limitations. 

 
5. 

The  Board  finds  that  there  is  sufficient  evidence  in  the  record  that  the 
applicant  was  wounded  as  a  result  of  enemy  action  in  March  of  1968.    The  record 
plainly  indicates  that  he  was  injured  when  the  concussion  from  an  exploding  enemy 
vessel knocked him off his feet and into a mortar box.  Also, the Division Commander 
declared in his recommendation for the applicant’s Bronze Star that the applicant had 
been “stunned and hurt” by the explosion and fall into the mortar box.  Furthermore, 
the  Commander  of  the  U.S.  Naval  Forces,  Vietnam,  on  behalf  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  awarded  the  applicant  the  Bronze  Star,  and  the  award  citation  clearly 
states that “although injured, [the applicant] immediately resumed his mount position 
and  continued  preparing  illumination  rounds  until  the  conclusion  of  the  action.”  
However,  as  the  JAG  argued,  there  is  no  evidence  in  the  record  that  the  applicant 
received medical treatment for his injury, which is a requirement for a Purple Heart. 

 
6. 

Moreover,  Article  1.A.2.h.  of  the  Coast  Guard  Medals  and  Awards 
Manual provides that “only one award of a personal military decoration will be made 
for the same act achievement, or period of meritorious service.”  Accordingly, although 
the  Board  recognizes  that  the  applicant  was  injured  on  March  1,  1968,  he  received  a 
Bronze Star for his meritorious service on that date and, pursuant to Article 1.A.2.h., he 
is not entitled to a second personal award or military decoration for that incident. 

 
7. 

Accordingly,  because  the  applicant  already  received  a  medal  for  his 
meritorious service on March 1, 1968, he is not entitled to the Purple Heart medal and 
relief should be denied.  
 

 

 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE] 

 

 

ORDER 

 

The  application  of  former  GM2  XXXXXXXXXXXXXX,  xxxxxxxxx,  USCG,  for 

 
 

 
 

 
 

correction of his military record is denied.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

  

 

 
 James G. Parks 

 

 

 
 Kenneth Walton 

 

 
 

 
 

        

 
 Joseph L. Brinkley