AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-00726
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
IN THE MATTER OF:
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
His record be corrected to reflect his service in the Republic of
Vietnam.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
He served boots on the ground in Da Nang, AB Republic of Vietnam
(RVN) from 16 March 1972 to 9 April 1972.
He would like to apply for Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
benefits.
In support of his request, the applicant provides copies of his DD
Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty; AF
Forms 626, Request and Authorization for Temporary Duty –
Military; and AF Forms 973, Request and Authorization for Change
of Administrative Orders.
The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The applicant served on active duty in the Regular Air Force from
14 May 1971 to 13 May 1975 as a Weapons Mechanic.
His DD Form 214 reflects 4 years of total active service with
1 year, and 3 months of Foreign Service.
Special Order number TA-978, reflects he went TDY to Da Nang, AB
RVN from Clark AB, Philippines to provide maintenance support to
deployed aircraft effective on or about 21 Mar 1972 for 60 days.
In accordance with AF Form 973, dated 22 May 1972, Item 7,
approximate number of days (include travel time) was amended to
read “90” days. The remarks section reflects, “Verbal Orders of
Commanding Officer (VOCO), 18 May 1972, sending above personnel on
TDY to Da Nang AB, RVN for 60 days effective 21 Mar 1972 is
confirmed, exigencies of the service having been such as to
preclude the issuance of competent written orders in advance.”
The applicant’s name is reflected as one of the individuals to
whom the change action pertains.
The Vietnam Service Medal (VSM), created on 8 Jul 1965, is awarded
to all service members of the Armed Forces who, between 4 Jul
1965 and 28 Mar 1973, served in the following areas of Southeast
Asia: in the Republic of Vietnam and the contiguous waters and
airspace; in Thailand, Laos or Cambodia or the airspace there over
in the direct support of military operations in the Republic of
Vietnam. The specific eligibility criteria requires a member to
be either:
Attached to or regularly serving for one, or more, days with an
organization participating in or directly supporting ground
(military) operations,
Attached to or regularly serving for one, or more, days aboard a
naval vessel directly supporting military operations,
Actually participate as a crew member in one or more aerial
flights directly supporting military operations, or
Serve on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or
60 nonconsecutive days, which may be waived for personnel
participating in actual combat operations.
________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
HQ AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial. DPAPP states they were able to
verify and confirm the applicant was assigned at Clark Air Base,
Republic of the Philippines, but cannot verify that he served in
Vietnam.
The complete DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
On 11 May 2012, copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded
to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. To date,
a response has not been received (Exhibit E).
________________________________________________________________
2
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. Sufficient evidence has been presented to demonstrate the
existence of an error or an injustice. After a thorough review of
the evidence presented, we are persuaded that relief is warranted.
We note the recommendation to deny the relief from the Air Force
office of primary responsibility based on the fact they were
unable to verify that he served in Vietnam. However, the
applicant has provided documentation that shows he was TDY in
Vietnam. Although he has been unable to provide copies of travel
vouchers in support of his request, it is our opinion that the
applicant has provided sufficient evidence to persuade us that he
served in Vietnam. In view of the above, we recommend his records
be corrected as indicated below.
________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that he had boots on the
ground in Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, from 21 Mar 1972 through 20 May
1972.
______________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR BC-2012-00726
in Executive Session on 14 Aug 2012, under the provisions of AFI
36-2603:
Panel Chair
Member
Member
3
All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The
following documentary evidence was considered in AFBCMR BC-2012-
00726:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 14 Feb 2012, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPAPP, dated 4 May 2012.
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 May 2012.
Panel Chair
4
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