AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 
DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2012-01978 
COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
   
 
    
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
1.  His  DD  Form  214,  Certificate  of  Release  or  Discharge  from 
Active  Duty,  be  corrected  to  reflect  the  Republic  of  Vietnam 
Campaign Medal (RVCM). 
 
2. His DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect the Vietnam Service 
Medal (VSM). 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
Through  no  fault  of  the  Air  Force  his  records  are  in  error; 
however,  he  needs  the  errors  to  be  corrected  so  that  he  can 
receive Department Veterans Affairs (DVA) benefits.  His records 
were burned in the fire of 1973.  He was assigned to Ellsworth 
AFB and was sent on temporary duty to Bion Hoa, Vietnam AF, in 
1967.    At  the  time  he  retired,  he  and  his  family  were 
experiencing some major problems and he was not ready to retire 
when he did.  He did not look at his DD Form 214 as close as he 
should have. 
 
In  support  of  his  request,  the  applicant  provides  a  personal 
statement. 
 
His complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A.  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
The  applicant  retired  on  31  Dec  87  in  the  grade  of  master 
sergeant. 
 
DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or 
Discharge from Active Duty, was accomplished to administratively 
correct  the  applicant’s  DD  Form  214  to  reflect  the  correct 
aircraft data, associated with his Air Force Specialty Codes..   
 
The  RVCM  Criterion:    This  medal  is  awarded  to  members  of  the 
armed forces of the United States who: 1) Served for six months 
in  South  Vietnam  during  the  period  March  1,  1961 to  March 28, 
 
 

 

1973; 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 of the armed forces of 
the United States who meet the criteria established for the AFEM 
(Vietnam) or Vietnam Service Medal during the period of service 
required are considered to have contributed direct combat support 
to  the  RVN  armed  forces;  3)  Did  not  complete  the  length  of 
service  required  in  item  (1)  or  (2)  above,  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 rescued or released; c) killed in action or in the line of 
duty; 4) Were assigned in Vietnam on Jan 28, 1973, and who served 
a minimum of 60 calendar days in Vietnam during the period Jan 29 
to March 28, 1973. 
 
The VSM 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 thereof 
and  in  direct  support  of  military  operations  in  Vietnam.    A 
service member must have serve on TDY for 30 consecutive days or 
60  nonconsecutive  days  to  be  eligible  for  award  of  the  VSM.  
Those time limitations may be waived for personnel participating 
in actual combat operations. 
 
The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letters prepared by the appropriate offices of 
the Air Force, which are at Exhibit C and D. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFPC/DPSID  recommends  denial  of  his  request  for  the  RVCM  and 
states  that  there  is  insufficient  evidence  in  the  applicant’s 
official military personnel record to support his claim that he 
served in the area of eligibility for the award.   
 
The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. 
 
AFPC/DPAPP  recommends  denial  of  his  request  for  the  VSM  and 
states  that  there  is  a  lack  of  evidence  in  the  applicant’s 
records  to  prove  he  served  in  Vietnam.    His  evaluation  report 
from  27  Jun  67  through  21  May  68  reflects  that  he  was  TDY  to 
Andersen AFB, Guam, for 118 days during the period in question.  
Additionally, his AF Form 7, Airman Military Record, reflects he 
was  TDY  for  178  days  beginning  22  Jan  68  and  TDY  to  the  SEA 
during the period of 7-28 Mar 68.  Unfortunately, his record does 
not reflect a specific location. 
 
The complete DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit D. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 

 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
The applicant responds by stating that while he was stationed at 
Andersen AFB, Guam; he worked on B-52 bombers, which was directly 
related to the war effort.  The second TDY was to Thailand where 
he worked on several types of aircraft, all in direct support of 
the war effort.   
 
The  applicant’s  complete  submission,  with  attachments,  is  at 
Exhibit F. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
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  with  regard  to 
the applicant’s request to have his DD Form 214 updated with the 
RVCM and VSM.  After a thorough review of the evidence of record 
and  applicant's  submission,  we  are  not  persuaded  that  his 
uncorroborated assertions, in and by themselves, are sufficiently 
persuasive to override the rationale provided by the Air Force.  
Therefore, we agree with the opinions and recommendations of the 
Air  Force  offices  of  primary  responsibility  and  adopt  their 
rationale as the basis for our conclusion that relief beyond that 
already granted administratively is not warranted.  Accordingly, 
the applicant’s requests are not favorably considered. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
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  AFBCMR  Docket 
Number BC-2012-01978 in Executive Session on 18 Dec 12, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
 
 

, Panel Chair 
, Member 

 

 

, Member 

 
 
The following documentary evidence was considered: 
 
    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 Apr 12, w/atch. 
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 24 Jun 12. 
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 2 Jul 12. 
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Oct 12. 
    Exhibit F.  Letter, Applicant, dated undated. 
 
 
 
 
                                   Panel Chair