RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:                                  27 OCTOBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:              AR20050001185


      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             |
|     |Mr. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Allen Raub                    |     |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 that he be awarded the Good Conduct Medal
(GCMDL).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he desires to be awarded the
GCMDL or to at least know why he did not receive it.

3.  The applicant provides no additional documents with his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which
occurred on 27 February 1968.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 5 January 2005.

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 limitation 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.  He was inducted in Newark, New Jersey, on 25 February 1966 and
successfully completed his training at Fort Dix, New Jersey before being
assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for duty as a vehicle driver with the
669th Transportation Company.

4.  His records show that he was absent without leave (AWOL) from 28 August
to 30 August 1966; however, the record is absent of any disciplinary action
taken for that absence.

5.  On 28 September 1966, he was transferred to Vietnam with his unit.  He
was promoted to the pay grade of E-4 on 16 January 1967 and remained in
Vietnam until 27 September 1967, when he was transferred to Fort Knox,
Kentucky.

6.  On 9 January 1968, nonjudicial punishment (NJP) was imposed against him
for sitting in a vehicle in the motor pool instead of walking his assigned
guard post.  His punishment consisted of a reduction to the pay grade of E-
3, a forfeiture of pay and restriction for 30 days (suspended for 60 days).
7.  On 27 February 1968, he was honorably released from active duty
(REFRAD) due to the expiration of his term of service (ETS).  He had served
2 years of total active service and had 3 days of lost time due to AWOL.
He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service
Medal (VSM), and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

8.  A review of his records shows that he had excellent conduct and
efficiency ratings throughout his service and there is no evidence that the
commander took any action to disqualify him for award of the GCMDL.

9.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, established the
criteria for award of the GCMDL.  It states, in pertinent part, that the
GCMDL was established by Executive Order 8809, 28 June 1941 and was amended
by Executive Order 9323, 1943 and by Executive Order 10444, 10 April 1953
and is awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active
Federal military service.  The regulation also states, in pertinent part,
that for first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June
1950, a period of service of less than 3 years but more than 1 year
qualifies for award of the GCMDL.  In instances of disqualification as
determined by the unit commander, the commander will prepare a statement of
the rationale for his or her decision and the statement will be referred to
the individual Solder for comment before a final decision is made by the
commander.  The decision to disqualify an individual for award of the GCMDL
will be recorded and filed in the individual’s Official Military Personnel
File (OMPF).

10.  Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit
Register-Vietnam Era) was published to assist commanders and personnel
officers in determining or establishing the eligibility of individual
members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit
citation badges awarded during the Vietnam Conflict.  Table 1 (Army Units
in Numerical Order) of the pamphlet indicates that the applicant’s unit was
subsequently awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
(RVNGC w/Palm) Unit Citation, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with
Gold Star (RVNGC w/GS) Unit Citation and the Meritorious Unit Commendation
(MUC) during the period he was assigned to the unit.  Additionally, he
participated in four campaigns while assigned to Vietnam and is entitled to
be awarded four bronze service stars for wear on his already awarded VSM.




DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant had 3 days of lost time and one record of NJP
during his term of service, there is no evidence in the applicant’s OMPF to
show that his commander took any action to disqualify him for award of the
GCMDL.

2.  It appears that the applicant not receiving the GCMDL was likely the
result of an administrative error as opposed to it being the result of a
conscious disqualification by any of the unit commanders for which he
served.  Therefore, in the interest of justice, this error should be
corrected and the applicant should receive the GCMDL at this time.

3.  Additionally, the evidence of record shows that the applicant is
entitled to awards of the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation, the RVNGC w/GC Unit
Citation, the MUC and four bronze service stars for wear on his already
VSM.

BOARD VOTE:

___MM__  ___AR __  ___LS___  GRANT 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 awarding him the GCMDL for the period
of 25 February 1966 to 27 February 1968, the RVNGC w/Palm Unit Citation,
the RVNGC w/GS Unit Citation, the MUC and four bronze service stars for
wear on his already awarded VSM.




            ____Melvin Meyer_________
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050001185                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051027                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD)                                    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19680227                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-200, SPN 201                     |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT PLUS)                            |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES                  |102/gcmdl                               |
|1.107.0056              |                                        |
|2.107.0095              |141/rvngc                               |
|3.107.0034              |80/muc                                  |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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