RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 JUNE 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040006734


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert Fry                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

2.  The applicant states he is entitled to the award based on service in
Lebanon in 1958.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a certificate he received during the
period in question which shows he served with the American Land Forces
Middle-East in Lebanon in 1958.  The certificate reflects the signature of
his battalion commander and the commander of the American Land Forces
Middle-East.  He also submits documents confirming his assignment with the
3rd Medium Tank Battalion, 35th Armor.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 16 March 1959.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
30 August 2004.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  Documents which are available to the Board indicate that the applicant
entered active duty on 16 March 1956.  His final payment voucher and a copy
of his Army transportation motor vehicle license confirm that he was a
member of the 3rd Medium Tank Battalion, 35th Armor in August 1958 and at
the time his final payment voucher was prepared in 1959.

5.  The certificate provided by the applicant shows that he served with the
American Land Forces Middle-East in Lebanon in 1958.  That certificate was
signed by a Major Kenneth Lamison, a battalion commander, on 15 September
1958, and by a Major General Paul D. Adams, Commander, American Land Forces
Middle-East.  While the battalion commander’s identity could not be
confirmed, information obtained from a Joint Military Command’s website
confirmed that General Adams assumed command of joint forces in Lebanon in
July 1958 and that United States Army forces joined marine corps forces in
preserving the integrity of Lebanon following the 31 July 1958 general
elections in that country.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal was established by Executive Order in December 1961 and awarded for
service after 1 July 1958 in direct support of designated United Nations
operations, or United States operations of assistance for friendly foreign
nations.  Service in Lebanon between 1 July 1958 and 1 November 1958 was
such an operation in which participating members were authorized the Armed
Forces Expeditionary Medal.

7.  The applicant was released from active duty on 16 March 1959.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant’s military personnel record is no longer
available, there were sufficient documents available to conclude that the
applicant was deployed to Lebanon in support of an operation for which the
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was awarded.

2.  As such, in the interest of equity and compassion, it would be
appropriate to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to the Armed Forces
Expeditionary Medal for service in Lebanon in 1958.

BOARD VOTE:

___JS___  ___HF __  ___LS___  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by confirming his entitlement to the
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Lebanon in 1958.




                            ______ John Slone_________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040006734                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050614                                |
|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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