DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2012-01274 
COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

                       RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 
 
IN THE MATTER OF: 
 
   
 
   
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
His  DD  Form  214,  Armed  Forces  of  the  United  States  Report  of 
Transfer  or  Discharge,  be  corrected  to  reflect  his  Vietnam 
service.  
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
His  personnel  records  do  not  reflect  a  physical  assignment  to 
the  Republic  of  Vietnam  nor  do  they  contain  any  indication  of 
his temporary assignments, visitations or travel to Vietnam.  He 
was assigned to Cam Rahn Bay Air Base (AB), Vietnam for a 30-day 
temporary duty (TDY) assignment.   
 
From 29 June 1967 through 04 April 1968 he was an assistant Crew 
Chief  with  landings  in  Vietnam,  Cambodia,  Laos,  and  Thailand.  
He flew over 150 hours in the South East Asia (SEA) Theater of 
Operation  and  participated  in  aerial  flights  into  Vietnam  to 
airlift personnel and cargo.  They returned to Ubon, Thailand or 
Naha AB, Okinawa upon completion of each mission.   
 
In  support  of  his  request,  the  applicant  submits  a  notarized 
statement  from  a  former  military  coworker  and  documents 
extracted from his military personnel records.   
 
The  applicant’s  complete  submission,  with  attachments,  is  at 
Exhibit A.  
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
The  applicant  enlisted  in  the  Regular  Air  Force  on 
17 March 1965.    He  was  trained  as  an  aircraft  mechanic  and  was 
progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  Sergeant,  E-4.    He  was 
released  from  active  duty  on  16  October  1968  with  an  honorable 
characterization  of  service  and  was  credited  with  serving 
4 years  and  7  months  of  active  duty  which  included  1  year, 
4 months and 27 days of Foreign and/or Sea Service.   
 

 

 
 

The applicant’s DD Form 214 reflects he was awarded the Vietnam 
Service  Medal  (VSM)  and  the  Republic  of  Vietnam  Campaign  Medal 
(RVNCM). 
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFPC/DPAPP  recommends  denial.    DPAPP  states  a  review  of  the 
applicant’s master personnel records and documentation submitted 
failed  to  provide  any  documents  that  substantiate  foreign 
service in Vietnam.  They were able to verify and confirm boots 
on the ground at Naha, Air Base, Okinawa, from 28 December 1966 
to 24 May 1968, but unable to verify any service in Vietnam.   
 
The complete AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C.  
 
AFPC/DPSIDR  states  based  on  the  applicant’s  duties  and 
responsibilities  as  an  aircraft  mechanic,  his  duty  location 
(Okinawa, Japan), and the fact his DD Form 214 reflects he was 
awarded the VSM and RVCM, the likelihood of his having served in 
direct  support  of  military  operations  supporting  Vietnam  is 
highly likely.   
 
The  source  document  to  verify  TDY  date  and  location  is  a  paid 
travel  voucher.    This  document  is  not  inherently  part  of  Air 
Force  members’  personnel  records;  therefore,  this  documentation 
is not always available to validate where or when an individual 
served  on  temporary  duty.    There  is  no  documentation  in  the 
applicant’s  personnel  file  to  indicate  he  served  in  Vietnam  or 
any of the other locations listed on his request.  However, by 
virtue  of  the  award  of  the  VSM  and  RVCM  on  his  DD  Form  214, 
there  is  a  strong  indication  he  either  served  in  an  area  that 
was eligible for the VSM and RVCM or he was awarded the VSM and 
RVCM  for  directly  contributing  combat  support  to  military 
operations in Vietnam 
 
The complete AFPC/DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit D.  
 
________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
In  a  letter  dated  20  July  2012,  the  applicant  states  the 
certified statement provided by his military coworker attests to 
the fact that he was physically present on station at Cam Rahn 
Bay  AB,  South  Vietnam  while  in  TDY  status.    He  also  submitted 
certified  copies  of  “Special  Pay  for  Duty  Subject  to  Hostile 
Fire”  documents  to  clarify  his  missions  in  the  combat  zone 
areas.   
 
The  applicant’s  complete  response,  with  attachments  is  at 
Exhibit F. 

 

 
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________________________________________________________________ 
 
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  relevant  evidence  has  been  presented  to 
demonstrate  the  existence  of  error  or  injustice  with  regard  to 
the  applicant’s  request  for  Vietnam  service  credit.    The 
applicant has provided copies of special pay for duty subject to 
hostile  fire  documents,  his  award  of  the  Vietnam  Service  Medal 
and  Republic  of  Vietnam  Campaign  Medal,  and  a  certified  letter 
from  a  former  military  coworker  confirming  his  presence  in  Cam 
Rahn  Bay  Air  Base,  Vietnam.    We  believe  the  applicant  has 
established reasonable doubt that he did indeed serve in Vietnam 
and  we  elect  to  resolve  any  doubt  we  have  in  his  favor.  
Therefore,  to  avoid  a  possible  injustice  and  in  recognition  of 
his service to the Nation, 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  the  Republic  of  Vietnam  from 
28 December 1966 to 24 May 1968.   
________________________________________________________________ 
The  following  members  of  the  Board  considered  this  application 
BC-2012-01274 in Executive Session on 2 October 2012, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
 
 
 
The following documentary evidence was considered: 
 
    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149 dated 19 March 2012, w/atchs. 
    Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 1 June 2012. 
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 18 June 2012. 
    Exhibit e.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 2 July 2012. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, Applicant, dated 20 July 2012, w/atchs. 
 
 
 
                                   Panel Chair 

  Panel Chair 
  Member 
  Member 

 
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