BOARD DATE:	  March 4, 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090016534 


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.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was injured on 12 May 1965 in the Dominican Republic and was never awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides service medical records, Medical Board Proceedings, Physical Evaluation Board Proceedings, documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge from Active Duty) for the period ending 16 August 1973 in support of his application.

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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 31 March 1958.  He remained on active duty through continuous reenlistments.  He trained as a light weapons infantryman, a machinist, and a metal working foreman and he had overseas tours in Germany, Okinawa, and the Dominican Republic.  On 16 August 1973, he was permanently retired by reason of physical disability.

3.  The applicant's DD Forms 214 for the periods ending 31 July 1961, 31 July 1967, and 16 August 1973 do not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

4.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.

5.  Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is blank.

6.  A clinical record, dated 13 May 1965, states, in pertinent part, that the applicant sustained complete destruction of his right hand on 12 May 1965 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, when a round from a light antitank weapon accidentally detonated in his right hand.

7.  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 that 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:

The medical evidence of record shows the applicant was accidentally injured in the Dominican Republic on 12 May 1965, not as a result of hostile action.  There is no evidence in the applicant's service personnel record which shows that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to award the Purple Heart.

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)                                         AR20090016534



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090016534



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