RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-02634
            INDEX CODE: 107.00
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  25 Jan 07

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Item 30 on his DD Form 214 reflect he did have service in Vietnam.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He served in Vietnam.  His  DD  Form  214  reflects  he  received  the
Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) and Republic  of  Vietnam  Campaign  Medal
(RVNCM) and he contends these awards  are  proof  he  was  there.   He
provides a newspaper article documenting his  weekly  duties  visiting
Thai villages as the noncommissioned  officer  in  charge  (NCOIC)  of
Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) at Nakhon  Phanom,  Thailand,  a
voucher showing travel to Bangkok,  Thailand,  and  three  memos  that
appear to report one-day medical visits to villages on 14  and  28 Jan
71, and 13 Mar 71.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The following was extracted from the  DOD  1348.33-Manual,  Manual  of
Military Decorations and Awards, and AFPC Awards/Decs Site:

      --The Vietnam Service Medal  (VSM),  created  on  8 Jul  65,  is
awarded to all service members of the Armed Forces who, between  4 Jul
65 and 28 Mar 73, served in the following areas of Southeast Asia:  in
Vietnam and the contiguous waters and airspace; in Thailand,  Laos  or
Cambodia or the airspace thereover and [emphasis added--DOD Manual and
AFI  36-2803  indicate  “and”  while  the  AFPC  website   incorrectly
indicates “or”] in  the  direct  support  of  military  operations  in
Vietnam.  The specific eligibility criteria requires a  member  to  be
attached to  or  directly  serving  for  one  or  more  days  with  an
organization, or aboard a naval vessel, directly  supporting  military
operations; actually participate as a  crew  member  on  one  or  more
aerial flights directly supporting military operations;  or  serve  on
temporary duty (TDY) for 30 consecutive  or  60  nonconsecutive  days,
although  these  time  limitations  may  be   waived   for   personnel
participating in actual combat operations. However, no member  may  be
issued both the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for service in
Vietnam and the VSM for service in Vietnam.

      --The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (RVNCM) is  awarded  to
members who: (1) served for six months in  South  Vietnam  during  the
period 1 Mar 61 and 28 Mar 73; (2)  served  outside  the  geographical
limits of South Vietnam and contributed direct combat support  to  the
RVN Armed Forces for an aggregate of six months--only members who meet
the criteria established for the AFEM (Vietnam) or the VSM during  the
period required are  considered  to  have  contributed  direct  combat
support to the RVN Armed Forces; (3) did not  complete  the  six-month
length of service required in (1) and (2)  but  who,  during  wartime,
were (a) wounded by the enemy (in a military action), (b) captured  by
the enemy during action or in the line of duty but later were  rescued
or released, killed in action  or  in  the  line  of  duty;  (4)  were
assigned in Vietnam on 28 Jan 73, and  who  served  a  minimum  of  60
calendar days in Vietnam during the period 29 Jan 73 to 28 Mar 73.

On 10 Feb 69, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force and  was
first assigned to Otis AFB, MA.  He was subsequently assigned  to  the
56th USAF Dispensary at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, as a medical  service
specialist.

He was honorably released from active duty in the grade of sergeant on
9 Feb 73, after 4 years, 1 month, and 14  days  of  active  duty,  and
transferred to the AF Reserve.  His DD Form 214 reflects one year  and
one day of foreign service, and that he was awarded the  VSM  and  the
RVNCM.  On 25 Dec 74, the applicant was honorably discharged from  the
AF Reserve.

A Department of Veterans Affairs  (DVA)  response  to  a  request  for
information regarding dates of service in Vietnam,  dated  13 Jul  05,
states they were “unable to determine whether or not this veteran  had
in-country service in the Republic of Vietnam.”

On 7 Oct 05, HQ AFPC/DPAPP advised the applicant his records reflected
he was assigned to Thailand from 14 Jul 70 to 14 Jul 71, but  not  TDY
to Vietnam, and requested  him  to  provide  documents,  such  as  TDY
orders, travel vouchers or flight records that show the specific  time
and location of  the  TDY  to  Vietnam.   The  applicant’s  17 Oct  05
response is included with his application at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPAPP advises there are no documents in the applicant’s master
personnel records that confirm he served in  Vietnam.   He  served  in
Thailand for one year and one day.  He was asked to check his personal
files to see if he had any documents  confirming  he  was  in  Vietnam
during his tour of duty  in  Thailand.   However,  he  was  unable  to
produce documents confirming he was in Vietnam during his tour of duty
in Thailand.  Denial is recommended.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 18 Nov 05 for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of
this date, this office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.    The applicant has exhausted all remedies  provided  by  existing
law or regulations.

2.    The application was not timely filed;  however,  it  is  in  the
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice.  After a thorough review  of  the
evidence  of  record  and  the  applicant’s  submission,  we  are  not
persuaded his DD Form 214 should  reflect  service  in  Vietnam.   The
applicant’s contentions and his receipt of the VSM and the RVNCM  were
noted; however, the  criteria  for  these  awards  do  not  require  a
recipient to have served in Vietnam.  The newspaper article and travel
voucher submitted  by  the  applicant,  as  well  as  his  performance
reports, confirm his  assignment  to  Thailand,  but  not  service  in
Vietnam.  We considered the memos that appear to pertain to  voluntary
one-day medical visits to  three  villages.   However,  we  could  not
determine with any certainty whether these villages  were  located  in
Vietnam.  Pursuant to an inquiry by the AFBCMR  Staff,  HQ  AFPC/DPAPP
informally advised that, while they could not officially  confirm  the
locations of these villages, a “Google” search  of  the  Internet  for
these three villages associated them with Thailand.  The applicant was
invited by HQ AFPC/DPAPP to submit travel vouchers, orders,  or  other
documents that confirm he was in Vietnam during his tour  of  duty  in
Thailand, but thus far he has  not  done  so  beyond  those  documents
discussed  above.   Should  the   applicant   be   able   to   provide
documentation that establishes he did serve in Vietnam,  we  would  be
willing to review his case for possible reconsideration.  Until  then,
and absent persuasive evidence to the contrary, we find no  compelling
basis to recommend granting the relief sought.  Our decision, however,
should in no way be construed as a  diminishment  of  the  applicant’s
contributions and accomplishments as a military member in the  Vietnam
era.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the
application was denied without a personal  appearance;  and  that  the
application will only be reconsidered upon  the  submission  of  newly
discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in
Executive Session on 26 January 2006, under the provisions of AFI 36-
2603:


                                  Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
                                  Ms. Patricia R. Collins, Member
                                  Ms. LeLoy W. Cottrell, Member

The following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2005-02634 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 17 Aug 05, & Letter,
                       dated 17 Oct 05, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPAPP, dated 10 Nov 05.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 Nov 05.





                                   RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                   Panel Chair