BOARD DATE: 20 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150017864 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: 20 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150017864 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: 20 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150017864 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 for wounds he received during his service in the Republic of Vietnam. 2. The applicant states he did not receive treatment from battalion-level or higher; his wounds were treated by the company medic. 3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 9 April 1968; a third-party witness statement; and four identical third-party statements, titled "Injury Report – LT [Lieutenant] E____ T____." 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. Following prior enlisted service in the Regular Army, the applicant was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer of the Army on 21 February 1966. He entered active duty as a second lieutenant in the Artillery Corps. 3. The applicant served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 9 September 1966 through on or about 6 April 1968. During this period of foreign service, he was assigned to the various field artillery batteries of 2nd Battalion, 9th Artillery Regiment. 4. The applicant was temporarily appointed to first lieutenant (1LT) in the Army of the United States on 21 February 1967 and to captain (CPT) on 1 April 1968. He was permanently promoted to 1LT in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 20 February 1968. 5. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 9 April 1968. His DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart. 6. The applicant was permanently promoted to CPT in the USAR on 10 April 1968. 7. The applicant's medical records are not available for review. His available personnel records do not contain orders for the Purple Heart, nor do they contain any documentation that indicates he was treated for wounds or injuries he sustained in action during his service in the Republic of Vietnam. 8. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster. 9. A review of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS) failed to reveal any orders that show the applicant was previously awarded the Purple Heart. 10. The applicant provides a third-party witness statement and four identical third-party statements, titled "Injury Report – LT E____ T____." a. The third-party witness statement was authored by Mr. B____ G. L____, who professes to have been present in September 1967 when the applicant was wounded by shrapnel from an enemy 82 millimeter (mm) mortar. This shrapnel knocked the applicant unconscious and caused a head laceration the bled profusely. He relates that the applicant was treated by the medic from Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, who used smelling salts to revive the applicant and later closed his laceration with a butterfly bandage. b. The four identical third-party statements, titled "Injury Report – LT E____ T____," appear to have been authored by former Soldiers who profess to have been present when the applicant was wounded. The statements note the applicant was wounded by shrapnel from an enemy mortar; the applicant sustained a head laceration and was knocked unconscious. He was revived by the company medic. The medic said the shrapnel didn't appear to have penetrated his skull so he was bandaged and allowed to remain with his unit. The applicant refused medical evacuation. REFERENCES: Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound or wounds sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided that verifies the wound resulted from hostile action, required treatment by medical personnel, and that treatment was made a matter of official record. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart for wounds he received during his service in the Republic of Vietnam was carefully considered. 2. The applicant's records do not contain any evidence that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action during his period of service in the Republic of Vietnam. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster and there is no record within ADCARS that confirms he was previously awarded the Purple Heart. 3. The applicant provides several third-party witness statements that suggest he was wounded in September 1967 from shrapnel caused by an enemy mortar. The authors suggest the applicant was treated by a company medic who bandaged his wound after reviving him and each author acknowledges the applicant refused medical evacuation. 4. To be awarded the Purple Heart, a Soldier must sustain a wound or wounds in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided that verifies the wound resulted from hostile action, required treatment by medical personnel, and that treatment was made a matter of official record. There is no evidence showing the applicant's treatment was made a matter of official record. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150017490 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150017864 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2