BOARD DATE: 8 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014305 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x_____ ___x_____ __x__ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 8 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014305 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. BOARD DATE: 8 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014305 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 a DA Form 8-275-3 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet), dated 24 July 1967, to show, in effect, that a line of duty (LD) investigation was completed and determined his injury was due to hostile action. 2. He states he was wounded twice while he was in the field. In reference to the LD, he says he was wounded when one of his Soldiers stepped on a land mine. He told the Soldier to hold still while he attempted to find something to put on the land mine, but the Soldier got nervous and scared and tried to run. The Soldier was killed and he was wounded by the enemy land mine. He states the injury was due to a hostile force during wartime action. 3. He provides the Clinical Record Cover Sheet. 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 9 June 1966. After completing basic combat and advanced individual training, he was awarded military occupational specialty 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman). 3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) from 16 January 1967 to 15 January 1968. 4. On 24 July 1967, he was admitted to the hospital in the RVN. His Clinical Record Cover Sheet shows he was diagnosed with "wound, open, due to fragments [right] flank and [right] buttocks, no nerve or artery involvement...Patient sustained injuries from a fragmentary grenade, exact details unknown, LD: Undetermined pending investigation." 5. The applicant's record shows he received two awards of the Purple Heart for wounds received in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the RVN on 2 March 1967 and 20 August 1967. 6. The applicant's record is void of any type of investigation or a LD determination. 7. He was honorably released from active duty on 7 June 1968. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) credits him with completing 1 year, 11 months, and 29 days of active duty service. 8. The applicant's complete service medical records are not available for review. REFERENCES: Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR)) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. Paragraph 2-9 contains guidance on the burden of proof. It states, in pertinent part, that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity, which is that what the Army did was correct. The ABCMR is not an investigative body and decides cases based on the evidence that is presented in the military records provided and the independent evidence submitted with the application. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. DISCUSSION: 1. The evidence of record shows the applicant received two awards of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the RVN on 2 March 1967 and 20 August 1967. However, there is no evidence that an LD investigation was completed on the incident that led to his hospital admission on 24 July 1967. 2. It appears he received a Purple Heart for the injuries referred to in the Clinical Record Cover Sheet he provided, which indicates the investigation was favorably resolved. The outcome of an LD investigation would have been recorded in his medical records. Unfortunately, those records were not available for review in this case and administrative regularity must be presumed. 3. The information he provided indicates an LD investigation was pending at the time the Clinical Record Cover Sheet was created; as such, the document in question appears to report the facts as they stood at the time the document was created. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014305 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014305 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2