BOARD DATE: 23 December 2010 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100016644 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. He states, in effect, he was jumping the battery/starter on an M60 Tank Gun in order to move it away from the area during a mortar attack. He adds the battery flashed and caused burns to his fingers and hand. He offers he spent six weeks in the hospital on the burn ward. 3. He provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) and a Clinical Record Narrative Summary. 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's military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army on 4 September 1968. He served in Vietnam from 11 June 1970 to 3 May 1971. He was honorably released from active duty on 3 May 1971. 3. Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not list the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 4. He provided a copy of his Clinical Record Narrative Summary that shows he was admitted to the hospital on 25 February 1971 for a third degree burn on the left fourth proximal phalanx. This document shows the burn was the result of his wedding ring touching a battery and causing an electrical current. This document shows no indication of enemy involvement in the incident. 5. Item 40 (Wounds) on his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows no entries of any wounds received. 6. The available records contain no documentation showing he sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action. His name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty roster. 7. His records contain no evidence of any general orders awarding him the Purple Heart. 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 any orders for the Purple Heart. 8. 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 that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. When contemplating an award of the Purple Heart, the key issue commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: There are no general orders available awarding the applicant the Purple Heart and his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty report. He provided a copy of his clinical record in which it shows he was hospitalized for a third degree burn to his finger caused by his wedding ring touching a battery and causing an electrical current. However, without evidence showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action, there is an insufficient basis for award of the Purple Heart 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 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) AR20100016644 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100016644 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1