| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti | Analyst |
| Mr. John N. Slone | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Lester Echols | Member | |
| Mr. Ronald E. Blakely | Member |
2. The applicant requests that he be given the proper number of Air Medals (AM) he earned in Vietnam.
3. The applicant states that by his count he would be eligible for 26 AM’s if the criteria was one AM for every 25 combat hours flown, and would be eligible for 15 AM’s if the criteria was one AM for every 25 combat missions flown.
4. In support of his application he submits copies of his DA Forms 759, Individual Flight Record – Army Aviator, which shows that he is credited with flying the following number of days in Vietnam:
December 1968 – 17
January 1969 – 27
February 1969 – 26
March 1969 – 15
April 1969 – 23
May 1969 – 27
June 1969 – 30
July 1969 – 25
August 1969 – 25
September 1969 – 21
October 1969 – 19
November 1969 - 1
5. The applicant’s military records show that he entered on active duty on 23 April 1967 in a commissioned status, was awarded the area of concentration of rotary wing aviator, and was promoted to the rank of captain. He served in Vietnam from 28 November 1968 to 27 November 1969. He was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service on 22 April 1970. The DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States, Report of Transfer or Discharge, shows that the applicant was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Air Medal for Valor with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 device, the Aviation Badge, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Army Commendation Medal.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Air Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism, for meritorious achievement and for meritorious service (sustained operations). As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and
announcement in orders are required. Arabic numerals are now used instead of oak leaf clusters for the second and succeeding awards.
7. U.S Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 provided, in pertinent part, guidelines for award of the Air Medal. It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations. It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours. Twenty five Category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal. However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point. Nothing created an entitlement to the award. There was no provision for making the award simply because an aircraft was struck by enemy fire.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant flew a total of 256 days while in Vietnam. On every day he flew he was credited with flying combat missions. However, since there is no record of how many missions the applicant flew on those days, the Board must default to one mission per day. While this number is certainly less than the number of missions the applicant actually flew, it is inconceivable that every mission he flew took 1 hour or less.
2. Using the number of days the applicant flew (256) divided by the standard of 25 combat missions, the Board concludes that the applicant should be awarded 10 Air Medals.
3. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the applicant was awarded the Air Medal for Valor with
Numeral 10, to denote the award of a total of 10 Air Medals.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
____le __ ___jns __ ____reb _ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
__________John N. Slone______
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001055088 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010925 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.00 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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