BOARD DATE: 21 September 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160002866 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: 21 September 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160002866 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: 21 September 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160002866 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, through his Member of Congress, requests he be awarded the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant did not provide a statement in support of his request. 3. The applicant provides two DA Forms 1 (Morning Report), dated 21 August and 26 August 1967, and a letter from Chief, Awards and Decoration Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox, KY, dated 8 October 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 17 January 1967. He completed his initial entry training and was awarded military occupational specialty 13F (Automatic Weapons Crewman – Artillery). 3. The applicant's record contains a DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), which shows in: a. item 31(Foreign Service), he served in the Republic of Vietnam from on or about 16 March 1967 through on or about 12 March 1968; b. item 38 (Record of Assignments), he served with Battery A, 5th Battalion (Automatic Weapons), 2nd Artillery Regiment during his service in Vietnam; c. item 40 (Wounds), the absence of an entry that indicates he was wounded in action; and d. item 41 (Awards and Decorations), the absence of an entry that indicates he was awarded the Purple Heart. 4. The applicant's available records do not contain orders for the Purple Heart, nor do they contain any documentation that indicates he was treated for wounds of injuries he sustained during his service in the Republic of Vietnam. 5. The applicant was honorably discharged on 17 October 1968. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows he completed 2 years, 2 months, and 23 days of total active service, including 11 months and 29 days of foreign and/or sea service. His DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart. 6. A review of the Vietnam casualty roster, compiled by the Adjutant General's Office Casualty Division, does not list the applicant's name as a casualty. 7. 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, failed to reveal any orders that confirm the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart. 8. The applicant provides: a. Two DA Forms 1, dated 21 August and 28 August 1967, respectively, which show he departed his unit for rest and recuperation (R&R) to Hawaii on 21 August 1967 and returned on 28 August 1967. b. A letter from Chief, Awards and Decoration Branch, HRC to his Member of Congress, dated 8 October 2015, stated that without military medical documentation, sworn eyewitness statements, or other documentation annotating or denoting a wound or injury caused by the enemy, they were unable to authorize an award of the Purple Heart. REFERENCES: Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 (not merely examination) by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Award of the Purple Heart may be made for wounds treated by a medical professional other than a medical officer provided a medical officer includes a statement in the service member's medical record that the extent of the wounds was such that they would have required treatment by a medical officer if one had been available to treat them. DISCUSSION: 1. There are no documents in the applicant's available record that show he was recommended for or awarded the Purple Heart. Additionally, none of his provided evidence mentions or details any wounds he received in combat as a result of enemy actions. 2. He contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart; however, neither his available records nor the Vietnam casualty roster provide any official evidence that shows he was wounded during his period of service in the Republic of Vietnam. 3. The governing Army regulation provides that in order to be awarded the Purple Heart, a wound must have resulted from hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been 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) AR20160002866 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160002866 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2