IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 10 November 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150003711 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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show two additional awards of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states: * he received three awards of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 24 June 1966, 1 August 1966, and 26 December 1966 * he was also wounded on 30 March 1967 and 15 April 1967 * he was treated by a medic for his gunshot wounds and sent to the rear for documentation * his injuries were not recorded because there were too many casualties * the treating medic is now deceased 3. The applicant provides: * DD Form 214 * letters from the Disabled American Veterans National Service Officer, dated 23 December 2014 and 19 February 2015 * eyewitness statement, dated 7 January 2015 * letter from the National Personnel Records Center, dated 28 August 2015 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 27 December 1965. He served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 6 June 1966 to 3 June 1967. 3. Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), General Orders Number 2213, dated 28 June 1966, awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 24 June 1966. 4. Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), General Orders Number 2665, dated 4 August 1966, awarded him the Purple Heart with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster for wounds received in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 1 August 1966. 5. Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), General Orders Number 137, dated 9 January 1967, awarded him the Purple Heart with 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster for wounds received in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 26 December 1966. 6. Headquarters, 8th Field Hospital, General Orders Number 4, dated 13 January 1967, awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 25 December 1966. (These orders appear to duplicate Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), General Orders Number 137, dated 9 January 1967.) 7. Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), General Orders Number 4978, dated 31 August 1967, awarded him the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for heroism on 30 March 1967 in Vietnam. The citation for this award does not state he was wounded in action on this date. 8. Item 40 (Wounds) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was wounded on: * 25 June 1966 * 1 August 1966 * 25 December 1966 (should read 26 December 1966) 9. On 13 December 1967, he was honorably released from active duty. 10. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Purple Heart with 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster indicating three awards of the Purple Heart. 11. There are no orders for any additional awards of the Purple Heart. 12. The Vietnam casualty roster shows he was wounded in action on: * 24 June 1966 * 1 August 1966 * 26 December 1966 13. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, revealed orders for one award of the Purple Heart (Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), General Orders Number 2213, dated 28 June 1966). 14. He provided an eyewitness statement from a fellow Soldier at the time in question, dated 7 January 2015, who attests: * it is his understanding the applicant was wounded four times, but he only received one award of the Purple Heart * he witnessed the applicant receive a battle wound in late June 1966 * the second time he witnessed the applicant wounded was on 1 August 1966 * the third time he saw him wounded was on Christmas Day in 1966 15. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or 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 treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for award of the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires evidence to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, treatment of the wound by military medical personnel, and documentation of the wound in official records. 2. Although the applicant contends he was wounded on 30 March 1967 and 15 April 1967 in Vietnam, there is no evidence of record and he provided no evidence showing he was wounded as a result of hostile action in Vietnam on these dates. His citation for award of the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for heroism on 30 March 1967 does not state he was wounded in action on that date. The eyewitness statement provided by the applicant attests only to the wounds for which he was already awarded the Purple Heart; it does not indicate he was wounded in action on 30 March 1967 or 15 April 1967. 3. In the absence of verifiable evidence showing he was wounded in action on 30 March 1967 and 15 April 1967, there is an insufficient basis for adding two additional awards of the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214. 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 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) AR20150003711 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150003711 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1