RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2012-05154
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her spouses records be corrected to reflect his foreign service
in Vietnam and award of the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM).
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Her husband served for three months in Vietnam as a fire
protection specialist.
In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of her
husbands DD Form 214, Report of Separation from Active Duty,
their marriage certificate, and his death certificate.
The applicants complete submission, with attachments, is at
Exhibit A.
________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The service members military personnel records reflect he
commenced his enlistment in the Regular Air Force on 5 Mar 70.
The service member performance reports reflect he served with
15th Air Base Wing, Hawaii from 17 Mar 72 through 31 Aug 72 and
6820th Civil Engineer Squadron, Thailand from 1 Sep 72 through
22 Mar 73. He was on temporary duty (TDY) in Southeast Asia for
179 days.
On 4 Nov 73, the service member was honorably released from
active duty and credited with 3 years, 9 months, and 20 days of
active service to include 1 year, 5 months, and 29 days of
foreign service.
________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPAPP recommends denial indicating there is no evidence to
verify the service member served in Vietnam. Although the
applicants records indicate he was TDY in Thailand, the exact
amount of time he spent there could not be verified.
A complete copy of the AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit C.
AFPC/DPSID recommends denial indicating there is no evidence to
support the service members eligibility for award of the
Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) or any other medal in support of
service of the Vietnam Conflict. 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 there over and in the direct
support of military operations in Vietnam 30 consecutive days or
60 non-consecutive days. Although it was confirmed the service
member served in the area of eligibility (AOE), the exact
service dates in Thailand could not be verified.
A complete copy of the AFPC/DPAPP evaluation is at Exhibit D.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the
applicant on 17 Feb 13, for review and comment within 30 days.
As of this date, no response has been received by this office
(Exhibit D).
________________________________________________________________
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 an error or injustice regarding the
applicants request to amend the former service members records
to reflect he served in Vietnam. After thoroughly reviewing the
evidence of record and noting the applicants contention, we are
not persuaded that the former service members records are in
error. In this respect, we note that although the service
members military records indicate he was on temporary duty for
179 days in Southeast Asia, we do not find the evidence
presented by the applicant sufficient to substantiate that the
former service member had boots on ground in Vietnam.
Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find
no basis to recommend correcting the record to reflect service
in Vietnam.
4. Notwithstanding the above, sufficient relevant evidence has
been presented to demonstrate the existence of an error or an
injustice with respect to the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM).
While we note the comments of the Air Force office of primary
responsibility (OPR) indicating they were unable to verify the
exact dates the former service member served in the area of
eligibility, we believe the preponderance of the evidence
indicates that corrective action is warranted. In this respect,
we note the former service members military personnel records
contain an airman performance report for the period 1 Sep 72
through 22 Mar 73, which indicates he was stationed in Thailand
for 172 days, well beyond the 30 days required to earn the VSM.
Therefore, in view of the above, we recommend the applicants
records be corrected as indicated below.
________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating to the FORMER SERVICE MEMBER be corrected to show that
he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM).
________________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket
Number BC-2012-05154 in Executive Session on 29 Aug 13, under
the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Panel Chair
, Member
, Member
All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The
following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket
Number BC-2012-05154 was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 31 Oct 13, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPAPP, dated 11 Dec 12.
Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 11 Feb 13.
Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Feb 13.
Panel Chair
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