BOARD DATE: 6 July 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001732 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: 6 July 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001732 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: 6 July 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001732 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 he was wounded on 10 August 1966 while on a long rang reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) mission in the Republic of Vietnam. He was recommended for the Purple Heart but did not receive it. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and only discovered he did not have a Purple Heart when he was questioned by his former commander in 2015. 3. The applicant provides: * General Orders Number 1067, issued by the 25th Infantry Division on 14 September 1966, which awarded him the Army Commendation Medal with "V" Device * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) for the period ending 30 November 1984 * a third-party witness statement 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 4 February 1959. He served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11C (Infantry Indirect Fire Crewman) and MOS 11B (Infantry First Sergeant). 3. The applicant served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 6 January through 31 December 1966 and from on or about 10 August 1969 through 7 August 1970. 4. General Orders Number 1067, issued by the 25th Infantry Division on 14 September 1966, awarded the applicant the Army Commendation Medal with "V" Device for heroism in connection with military operations against hostile forces on 10 August 1966. These general orders show his unit of assignment as Company B, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. The award's narrative does not mention that he was injured as a result of engaging a hostile force. 5. The applicant retired from active duty on 30 November 1984. His DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart. 6. The applicant's available record does not contain orders for the Purple Heart, nor does it contain documentation that indicates he was treated for wounds or injuries he sustained as a result of hostile forces during his service in the Republic of Vietnam. His name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster. 7. A review of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System failed to reveal any orders that show the applicant was previously awarded the Purple Heart. 8. The applicant provides a witness statement from Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) M____ P____, Retired, who states, in effect: a. He was the commanding officer of a newly formed LRRP company assigned to the 25th Infantry Division located at C? Chi, Vietnam. The division commander allowed him to request volunteers from across the division's combat units to form the company; the applicant was one of the original volunteers. b. On 10 August 1966, the applicant and his five man reconnaissance team were discovered and came under heavy fire from a vastly superior enemy force. While waiting for an emergency extraction and being continuously under enemy fire, he was wounded by enemy fire. When the team was rescued and returned to the division base area, he and two other members of his team were treated for their combat wounds. The following day, LTC M____ P____ personally submitted the paperwork requesting the award of the Purple Heart for the applicant and the other members of his team who were also wounded. 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 the treatment was made a matter of official record. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart was carefully considered. 2. The governing Army regulation provides that in order to be awarded the Purple Heart, a wound must be as a 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. 3. The applicant's record does not contain evidence that shows he was wounded or injured during his service in Vietnam. Similarly, the Vietnam casualty roster does not indicate he was wounded/injured. 4. The applicant provides a statement from his former commander who states he recommended the applicant for the Purple Heart after he was wounded by a hostile enemy force on 10 August 1966. 5. The applicant received a valor award for the incident in which the alleged injury occurred; however, the award narrative does not confirm a combat injury/wound as cited by his commander. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014846 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160001732 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2