ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 May 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160017270 APPLICANT REQUESTS: award of the Purple Heart. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination) * Self-authored statement, dated 23 July 2011 * Letter, U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) Awards and Decorations Branch, dated 20 December 2011 * Letter, HRC Awards and Decorations Branch, dated 3 May 2012 * Self-authored letter, dated 20 December 2012 * Honorable Discharge Certificate FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states his discharge physical, dated 25 June 1969, shows he was wounded, and a letter dated 20 December 2011 from the Awards and Decoration Branch states he was wounded. 3. On 3 August 1967, the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States. After completing initial entry training, he was assigned to duty in Vietnam with 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, where he served from 17 January 1968 to 8 January 1969. 4. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in: * Item 40 (Wounds) – no entry * Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) – no entry for the Purple Heart 5. He provides a Standard Form 88, dated 25 June 1969, which shows he reported having incurred a shrapnel wound to a buttock in Vietnam. The examining physician noted the injury the applicant reported had occurred in Vietnam in June 1968. 6. On 1 August 1969, he was released from active duty. The DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) issued at that time, as corrected by a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), does not list the Purple Heart among his awards. 7. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster. 8. Review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders announcing award of the Purple Heart to the applicant. 9. The applicant provides self-authored correspondence in which he states while in firefights near Base Camp Cu Chi, Vietnam, he was wounded in the right hip. He was sent to the camp for removal of the bullet and treatment. He was there one day and sent back to his unit where he was treated for approximately 30 days for daily wound care and then returned to full duty. 10. On 20 December 2011 and 3 May 2012, HRC Awards and Decorations Branch advised the applicant that their office was unable to verify his entitlement to the Purple Heart in the absence of documentation confirming the wounds or injuries he received were a direct result of enemy action. 11. The applicant responded to the correspondence from HRC, stating that, being in a war zone, "it was all enemy fire. Also, it was during the Tet Offensive, the most active part of the war." He stated he didn't think his parents received a telegram notifying them he was wounded. He noted he has received a 10 percent disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs for a gunshot wound. 12. On 8 September 2016, HRC Awards and Decorations Branch advised a United States Senator that they remained unable to verify the applicant's entitlement to the Purple Heart. HRC advised the Senator that the applicant could apply to this Board. 13. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board determined that relief was not warranted. Per the regulatory guidance on awarding the Purple Heart, the applicant must provide or have in his service records substantiating evidence to verify that he was injured, 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. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the applicant did provide a medical record showing an injury but the cause of that injury is not reflected. As stated above, the record must show a specific event of hostile action. As a result, the Board found insufficient evidence to meet the regulatory standard for the Purple Heart and thus recommended denying the request. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : 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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three 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 three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded to any member who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Army Services, has been wounded or killed or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded: (1) In any action against an enemy of the United States; (2) In any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged; (3) While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party; (4) As a result of an act of any such enemy of opposing armed forces; (5) As a result of an act of any hostile foreign force; (6) After 23 March 1973, as a result of an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of the Army, or jointly by the Secretaries of the separate armed services concerned if persons from more than one service are wounded in the attack; (7) After 28 March 1973, as a result of military operations while serving outside the territory of the United States as part of a peacekeeping force; or (8) Members killed or wounded by friendly fire. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160017270 0 3 1