BOARD DATE: 5 September 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170002200 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: 5 September 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170002200 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: 5 September 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170002200 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 and a Combat Infantryman Badge. 2. He states that between February and March 1968, he was shot while riding shotgun in a jeep in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). The jeep was the lead vehicle in a supply mission when they were ambushed and came under enemy fire. He took a bullet to his left thigh and the jeep was shot up. He was transported to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital for treatment, then medically evacuated out of the country to Japan for treatment, and ended up at Walter Reed Army Hospital where he completed his recovery for 30 days. He was eventually assigned to Fort Meade, MD, for 9 months before returning back to the RVN. He was assigned to the 5th Infantry Division and he participated in the Tet Offensive. 3. The applicant provides his self-authored statement, two witness statements, and DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge). 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 3 June 1966. He completed initial entry training and was awarded military occupational specialty 13A (Field Artillery Basic). 3. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 (Personnel Qualification Record) shows that during his foreign service in Vietnam: * he performed the duties of an ammunition handler while assigned to Service Battery, 6th Battalion, 27th Artillery from 6 November 1966 to 12 June 1968 * he was medically evacuated to U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Campbell, KY, on 12 June 1968 * he was a patient assigned to the Medical Hold Detachment, Fort Campbell, KY, from 17 June 1968 to 14 July 1968 * he performed the duties of an ammunition handler while assigned to the Service Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Artillery, 1st Brigade, 5th Division from 4 September 1969 to 21 April 1970 4. Item 40 (Wounds) of the applicant's DA Form 20 does not have an entry. 5. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 30 April 1970. His DD Form 214 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart. 6. The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty report. 7. The applicant's record is void of evidence that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart during his period of active service. 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 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. 8. The applicant provides: a. A witness statement from AL, a fellow Soldier. He stated that he served in the RVN from August 1967 to August 1968 and after the Tet Offensive started in February 1968, the applicant got shot while on convoy from the Binh Hoa Air Base to their post in Long Binh. b. A witness statement from LK, a fellow Soldier. He stated that he was informed by the motor sergeant that the applicant had been sent to drive an officer to Bien Hoa Airbase. Along the way the jeep was hit. The applicant was in the 93rd Medical Evacuation and they needed another driver. He recalled that he was surprised because the military police never allowed a single vehicle to depart the post unaccompanied at night. REFERENCES: Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that: a. 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. b. The Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers, enlisted Soldiers, and warrant officers who have an infantry MOS. They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge. 2. Award of the Purple Heart requires that a wound must be 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. 3. His record does not contain evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a direct result of hostile enemy action during his service in Vietnam. Similarly, the Vietnam casualty roster does not indicate he was wounded/injured. The witness statements differ in that one states the applicant was injured on convoy and the other states he was injured while driving at night, and unaccompanied. The record does show he was medically evacuated but the origin of his injury/illness is not found in the record and the applicant did not provide medical documentation related to his injury. 4. There are three basic criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. The Soldier must hold an infantry MOS; the Soldier must be assigned to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size; and the Soldier must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit. The applicant was a field artillery Soldier, assigned to an artillery unit. He does not meets all the criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170002200 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170002200 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2