IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  23 February 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090008852 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that he be awarded an award higher than the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) with “V” Device; that his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 11 March 1975, be corrected to show his correct period of service, his correct date of rank (DOR), his correct date of birth (DOB), the date of his injury/wounds; and that he be provided new certificates for all of his awards and decorations.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he put his life on the line during the attack on his fire base in Vietnam on 26 December 1967 and he should have received a higher award than the BSM with “V” Device.  He further states that he knows people who did less and received the Congressional Medal of Honor and are still living.  He goes on to state that his DD Form 214, dated 11 March 1975, does not reflect all of his service because he enlisted on 30 June 1966.  Additionally, it does not reflect his correct DOR which is 22 November 1968 and his correct DOB.  He also states that he desires a new certificate for all of his decorations and awards.  He continues by stating that he requested replacement awards and certificates; however, he only received the medals and not the certificates.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 for the period ending        11 March 1975 and a copy of his birth certificate in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant requests correction of his records to show award of either the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, or the Silver Star.  There are no orders or other evidence authorizing award of this decoration to the applicant.  In the absence of a proper award authority for this decoration, the applicant may request award of an award higher than the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device under the provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1130.  The applicant has been notified by separate correspondence of the procedures for applying for either of these decorations under section 1130 and, as a result, this portion of the applicant's request will not be discussed further in these Proceedings.

3.  The applicant further requests he be reissued new certificates for all of his awards.  Inasmuch as there are no copies of the award certificates present in the available records, reconstruction of such certificates would be difficult at best.  Since this issue is not a function or responsibility of the ABCMR the applicant has also been notified by the above same correspondence to directly contact the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO for resolution.  Therefore, this portion of the applicant's request will not be discussed further in these Proceedings.

4.  The applicant was born on 17 December 1948 and he enlisted with parental consent on 30 June 1966 for a period of 3 years and training as a field artillery crewman.  He completed his basic training at Fort Polk, LA and his advanced individual training at Fort Sill, OK before being transferred to Vietnam on
17 December 1966.

5.  On 30 June 1967, while serving in the rank of corporal, he was honorably discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He reenlisted on 1 July 1967 for a period of 6 years and on 26 July 1967, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.  He was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant on 1 November 1967 and he was awarded the BSM with “V” Device for heroism on 26 December 1967. He was wounded on 22 May 1968, sustaining shrapnel wounds to both knees, and he was awarded the Purple Heart by General Orders Number 3801 issued by Headquarters, 25th infantry Division, dated 24 May 1968.
6.  He departed Vietnam on 18 December 1968 and he was transferred to Fort Sill.  On 19 March 1970, he was honorably discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He reenlisted on 20 March 1970 for a period of 6 years and assignment back to Vietnam.  He was transferred back to Vietnam on
21 May 1970.

7.  On 30 October 1970, he was honorably discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He reenlisted on 31 October 1970 for a period of 6 years and assignment to Alaska.  He was transferred to Alaska on 18 April 1971.  He served in Alaska until 10 August 1973 and he was transferred to Fort Lewis, WA.

8.  He was discharged on 11 March 1975 and his DD Form 214 issued at the time of his discharge reflects the following:

   a.  Block 5 (DOB) shows his DOB as "461217" [17 December 1946];
   
   b.  Block 12 (Record of Service) c (Net Active Service This Period) shows he had served 4 years, 11 months and 22 days;
   
   c.  Block 12d (Total Prior Active Service) shows he had 3 years, 8 months, and 20 days of prior active service, which is commensurate with an initial active service entry date of 30 June 1966;
   
   d.  Block 12h (Effect Date of Pay Grade) shows the entry "67 11 01" [1 November 1967]; and
   
   e.  Block 18 (Remarks) indicates, in part, his Vietnam service as                   17 December 1965 - 18 December 1967.

9.  A review of the applicant’s Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) failed to show any indication that the applicant was recommended for award of a decoration higher than the BSM with “V” Device.  Additionally, there are no copies of any of the applicant’s award certificates contained in his OMPF.

10.  A review of the Vietnam Casualty Listing confirms the information contained in the applicant’s records that show he was reported as a casualty only on 22 May 1968.

11.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations - Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army.  It established standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214.  It stated, in effect, that:

   a.  for block 5, enter date using six digit number; year, month, and day written in that sequence without spaces or slashes, e.g., 420106 for 6 Jan 42;

	b.  for block 12a (Date Entered AD [Active Duty] This Period), enter the date of the first day of the last immediate reenlistment for which a DD Form 214 was not issued;

	c.  for block 12b (Separation Date This Period), enter the date of separation (self-explanatory);

	d.  for block 12d, all service entered will be less time lost under Title 10, U.S. Code, section 972 [Members: effect of time lost] and time lost after expiration of term of service;

	e.  for block 12h, enter the effective date of promotion to pay grade; and

	f.  for block 18, use the remarks section for entries required by HQDA for which a separate item is not available on the form and for completing entries that are too long for their blocks.  When completing a long entry, place the item number before the rest of the comment.  (A list of entries are annotated that will be included in block 18, if applicable.  There is no provision for annotating the date an individual was injured or wounded.)

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that his DOB is incorrectly reflected on his DD Form 214 has been noted and found to have merit.  His DOB at the time of his enlistment on 30 June 1966 was 17 December 1948; however, at the time of his discharge on 11 March 1975 his DD Form 214 incorrectly reflects a DOB of 17 December 1946.  Accordingly, his DOB should be corrected at this time to reflect a DOB of 17 December 1948.

2.  The applicant’s contention that his DOR should be reflected as 22 November 1968 has been noted; however, all evidence in the applicant’s OMPF reflects that his DOR is 1 November 1967 and the applicant has provided no evidence to dispute that date.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to show otherwise, it must be presumed that his DOR is correct.

3.  It is noted that all of the applicant’s service is accounted for on his DD Form 214, dated 11 March 1975; however, his service in Vietnam is incorrectly reflected in item 18 (Remarks) as being from 17 December 1965 to 18 December 1967.  Therefore, his Vietnam service should be corrected to reflect
17 December 1966 to 18 December 1968.

4.  In regards to the applicant’s request to have the date he was injured/wounded on his DD Form 214, the regulation in effect at the time made no provisions for entering such information on the DD Form 214.  While previous versions of the DD Form 214 did contain such information, the version in effect at the time the applicant was wounded did not provide that such information would be entered on that form.  Accordingly, there is no error or injustice by not having the date he was wounded on his DD Form 214.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

___X___  ___X____  ___X____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

   a.  deleting from block 5 of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 11 March 1975 the entry "461217" and replacing it with the entry "481217"; and

   b.  deleting from block 18 of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 11 March 1975 the entry "VIETNAM SERVICE:  15 DEC 65 - 18 DEC 67" and replacing it with the entry "VIETNAM SERVICE:  17 DEC 66 - 18 DEC 68."

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to changing his DOR, adding the date he was injured/wounded, or changing his date of entry on his DD Form 214 for the period ending 11 March 1975.


3.  The Board wants the applicant and all others to know that the sacrifices he made in service to the United States during the Vietnam War are deeply appreciated.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.



      __________X______________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090008852



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090008852



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