Vietnam Purple Heart Search

[Diamondrichlb]

Aloha,

I'm not sure this is the correct forum to post this into, but during a record search at home in regard to another issue I found a letter from a Captain to a Commanding General, United States Army Vietnam requesting I be awarded a Purple Heart for wounds suffered while flying a mission in the Vietnam Theater of Operations. I also have a copy of the treatment records from the emergency room. I remember the incident and going to the emergency room. I don't remember the application for the Purple Heart. The date of the letter requesting the Award was dated after my return from Vietnam. The Captain who took me to the emergency room has since died.

I requested a full records search from the National Personnel Records Center. When going thru the records they provided a couple months later, I do not see a request for the award of the PH, award of the PH, nor denial of the request for award of the PH. The letter from NPRC which came with the copy of my records states that since the PH is not shown as an awarded medal the request was turned down. It seems to me if the request was turned down there should be a record of the request and subsequent denial.

There is the issue that the mission I was flying was Top Secret. I don't know if it still is. That's way beyond my pay grade. Would that complicate the matter?

Can anyone suggest what my next step(s) should be?

Thanks for your help.

[Berta]

You might have more luck applying for a DD 215 with this application form:

https://www.defense.gov/ask-us/faq/Article/1777745/how-can-i-make-a-correction-to-my-military-service-records-or-request-an-upgrad/

Tell them under the injustice " part that you are enclosing a copy of the write up from the Captain, and never received the Purple Heart.

Tell them of the mission and that it was "Top Secret",but Vietnam has been declassified. Gve them any details at all such as time, place, and the ER info.

My daughter was Top Secret classified in the Military ( still is-at DOD) and the Military told her they would declassify any records,if needed, if she ever applied for VA compensation. She never has done that but I would think DOD would have to.

The above DD149 pdf in the link has been upgraded earlier this year.

Many here , to include my deceased husband, Vietnam 65-66,  had their DD 214s upgraded to DD 215s ,that included decorations and medals they didn't know they had earned.

This site has some good info as well and I like to post links to what I stated here:

http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/wannabe1.htm

I certainly do not consider you to be any wannabee- but as the site says, Vietnam has been declassified since 1994. That was th first page of the sit that came up when I searched under Vietnam declassified.

At the top of the link page, is the link to the whole American War Library and the Vietnam Master Research Center.

Unfortunately we have all had experience with wannabees.

The Purple Heart has a distinct criteria-I will find that and post it here.

I knew a Vietnam vet from Honolulu who had a severe scar on his arm from a GSW that deeply grazed him.He was sent to be patched up and then went right back into the unit. The scar alone ( unless there was additional muscular damage,)was worth a VA rating but he never pursued a claim.

I dont know if he ever applied for a DD 215 as it was not on his DD 214.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Berta

[Berta]

This article (Army) contains  the criteria for receipt of the Purple Heart:

https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Purple Heart

I would think that criteria would cover every branch of the Military. 

[Diamondrichlb]

Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure what link page you're talking about, but I didn't read it. I Google searched for content to get to this site and went from there. I didn't research this site nor read all the information contained herein. Usually, if you don't want to label someone something like a 'wannabee' whatever you think that is, you don't bring it up at all.

In regard to the DD-215, I've never heard of that. I'll check it out. There is no mention in my records of my TDY posting to Udorn Thailand Royal Air Force Base for the mission during which I suffered my injuries. I'm certainly no expert on Army records, but it seems that would be evident somewhere. We were the only US Army unit on the base. We supposedly got our mission orders from the Ambassador to Laos, but as a CW2 that was not my area of operation. I only flew the missions. The Air Force and Air America were operating in the same area, although the Air Force was several thousand feet above us, lucky dogs.

Thank you for the link to the criteria for the Purple Heart. I'm pretty sure I qualify, but certainly not to the extend of many who have suffered much worse injuries and/or death.

Aloha

[Diamondrichlb]

When I read about a DD-215, that doesn't sound like what I need. It seems I might need to go to Army Board for Correction of Military Records.

Has anyone had any experience with that? I believe the first step is a records search then I can go to them? I did the records search with no mention of the Purple Heart.

[Berta]

The site I posted is excellent, but my search was to prove that all of Vietnam has been declassified, and that was the first link I got to prove that.

This is a link to the Army Board of Corrections of Military records,, and their application is linked at the left, to the main page.

https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/abcmr-overview.html

We have had vets here who went through the BCMR process.

Many of  them sought discharge upgrades.But many others here over the years did get additional awards, decorations , solely via their DD 149 application.

I certainly do not consider you as a wannabee, and I certainly assume you have an Honorable Discharge.

I also believe there would have to be a record somewhere of the only Army Unit at Udorn, for this mission.

If you tell me your Army Unit and the date of the mission , as far as you might remember, I could search for more info.

 

 

[Berta]

You are certainly correct  about how much input the Ambassador to Laos had.

 

"The CIA was largely responsible for conducting military operations in Laos, but the US Ambassador was the man in charge. The secret war in Laos, author Charles Stevenson has emphasized, "was William Sullivan's war." Ambassador from December 1964 to March 1969, Sullivan insisted on an efficient, closely controlled country team. "There wasn't a bag of rice dropped in Laos that he didn't know about," observed Assistant Secretary of State William Bundy. Sullivan imposed two conditions upon his subordinates. First, the thin fiction of the Geneva accords had to be maintained to avoid possible embarrassment to the Lao and Soviet Governments; military operations, therefore, had to be carried out in relative secrecy. Second, no regular US ground troops were to become involved. In general, Ambassador Sullivan and his successor, G. McMurtrie Godley, successfully carried out this policy. ^{44  "}

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art7.html

This is the pdf of what Stevenson wrote:

https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/1822/18220101008.pdf

That CIA site has many footnotes and references.......

I searched the BVA site as well but found nothing , as far as a claim, from any Army veteran who was in Thailand.

Still- a needle in a haystack can be found.  It just takes time and legwork.