RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        12 June 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060017162


      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.

|     |Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano          |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Edward E. Montgomery          |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Rea M. Nuppenau               |     |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, in effect, reconsideration of his request that
his record be corrected to show his Prisoner of War (POW) status.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that it is his intent to provide
additional information that will provide the Board substantial evidence
that will allow him to receive POW status and proper recognition for future
representation of his service and legacy to his family.  He claims the
dates outlined in the Board's original Record of Proceedings were incorrect
and he outlines the dates and events that took place between 4 and 10
January 1968.  He is also providing a statement from a witness to his
story.  He indicates that he has nothing to gain from this correction
financially given he is already rated at 220 percent disabled, and his
request is being made solely for the purpose of future representation of
his service and legacy to his family.

3.  The applicant provides a self-authored letter and third-party statement
in support of this reconsideration request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR20050005311, on 5 January 2006.

2.  During its original review of the case, the Board found the evidence of
record clearly established that the applicant was wounded in action on 9
January 1968, and was reported as a combat casualty that same day.  The
orders awarding him the Purple Heart were published the following day.  The
orders awarding him the Silver Star were published less than 60 days later,
and there is no mention in any of these documents that the applicant was
held by enemy forces at any time.  The Board determined the single document
on file that indicated he lay in a
Viet Cong camp for about 20 hours, before escaping was completed in June
1968, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  The Board further found the source of this
information was not confirmed in any other documents in the applicant's
file, or that were provided by him.  As a result, the Board finally
concluded that there was insufficient evidence of a compelling nature to
conclude the applicant is entitled to designation as a POW, and even if
such a designation was appropriate, there were not provisions for entering
this designation on the separation document (DD Form 214) during the period
in question.

3.  The applicant provides a self-authored statement as new evidence in
which he states that 4 January 1968 was the date of the start of the
operation.  He was shot by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces in the
daytime of 6 January 1968, and was captured by NVA forces at dusk on 6
January 1968.  He states he was held captive and tortured by NVA forces on
7 January 1968, and escaped during the early morning hours of 7 January
1968.  He states he returned to the creek and hill where the ambush began
to locate his comrades on 7 January 1968, and after discovering that his
comrades were dead, he hid in a hog pen and observed the movement of NVA
forces on 8 January 1968.  He claims he crawled to meet reaction forces
looking for missing in action and POW personnel on 9 January 1968, and was
picked up by a Red Cross Helicopter on 9 January 1968, and he was awarded
the Purple Heart on 10 January 1968.

4.  The applicant also provides a third-party witness statement from an
individual who indicates he served with the applicant in the Republic of
Vietnam and was a witness to the applicant's story.  He states that while
he was on the reactionary force looking for MIAs, which started on 6
January 1968, they found the applicant was alive after he had crawled up to
them after being wounded and captured by NVA forces on 9 January 1968.

5.  The applicant's military record contains Headquarters, 2nd Surgical
Hospital General Orders Number 9, dated 10 January 1968, which awarded the
applicant he Purple Heart for being wounded in action in the Republic of
Vietnam (RVN) on
9 January 1968.

6.  The applicant's record also contains Headquarters, Americal Division
General Orders Number 1013, dated 27 February 1968, which awarded the
applicant the Silver Star for his heroic actions in the RVN on 8 January
1968.  The reason citation contained in the Silver Star orders outlines the
heroic actions of the applicant on 8 January 1968; however, it makes no
mention of him having been taken as a POW.

7.  A Medical Board clinical record (SF 502) prepared at Fort Sill,
Oklahoma, on 17 June 1968, contains the statement "the patient lay in a
Viet Cong camp for about 20 hours, before escaping".  However, the source
of this information is not given and there are no other official duty
status documents on file to corroborate this information.

8.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation
documents that must be prepared for Soldiers on retirement, discharge,
release from active duty service, or control of the Active Army.  It also
establishes standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form
214.  The version of the regulation in effect at the time of the
applicant's separation provided no provisions for entering POW status on
the separation document.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) contains the Army awards
policy. Paragraph 2-9 contains guidance on the POW Medal.  It states, in
pertinent part, that it is awarded to members who were taken prisoner and
held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United
States.  It further states that personnel officially classified as MIA are
not eligible for award of the POW Medal, which will only be awarded when
the individual's POW status has been officially confirmed and recognized as
such by the Department of the Army.

10.  The awards regulation states all requests for award of the POW Medal
for past armed conflicts will be initiated by former POWs or their next of
kin, using a personal letter.  The following documents, as applicable,
should be submitted with POW Medal applications to assist in validating the
award:  Army separation documents; casualty reports;
messages/letters/telegrams sent home; unit journals; diaries; sworn
eyewitness statements or affidavits; photos, ID Card, or other documents
taken or obtained while in captivity; news clippings and other evidence in
support of the request.  Applications or personal letters should be
forwarded to the National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Avenue,
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for reconsideration of his petition to be
granted POW status and the supporting documents he provided were carefully
considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support amendment
of the Board's original decision in this case.

2.  The applicant's record is void of any casualty or duty status reports
that indicate he was taken as a POW.  The orders awarding him the Silver
Star make no mention of his having been captured during the action in
question in the reason summary included in the orders, and there is no
indication that he has ever officially requested or been granted POW status
or the POW Medal by Department of the Army.

3.  The veracity of the applicant's claim of entitlement to POW status and
the version of events he provides, and of the information contained in the
third-party statement and 17 June 1968 clinical record is not in question.
However, the third-party witness statement confirms only that the
individual who provided the statement witnessed the applicant's recovery
from the operation in question, and the source of the information contained
on the clinical record remains unknown.  As a result, there is still an
insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief.
Further, absent some official record confirmation of the applicant's POW
status, it would not be appropriate or serve the interest of all those who
served in the RVN and who faced similar circumstances to grant the
applicant's request at this late date.

4.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily
appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to
submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement, or that would support
amendment of the original Board decision in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__LMD __  __EEM__  __RMN__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20050005311, dated 5 January 2006.




                                  _____LaVerne M. Douglas____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR                                      |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |AR20050005311 - 2006/01/05              |
|DATE BOARDED            |2007/06/12                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1968/09/26                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-40                               |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Disability Retirement                   |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Ms. Mitrano                             |
|ISSUES         1.  1021 |100.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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