IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 August 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110003452
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 that her late husband's records be corrected to show he was a Prisoner of War (POW) and had two periods of active duty service.
2. The applicant states the former service member (FSM) told her he was a POW in Vietnam from 1970 through 1972 but his records were sealed for this period because he was working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The FSM told her he had had been wounded in an escape from a Vietnamese prison and spent six months in a German hospital recovering. She believes the FSM should be shown to have been a POW and to have received two DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty).
3. The applicant provides no supporting documentation except to document her relationship to the FSM.
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 applicants 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 applicants failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.
2. The record shows the FSM was born on 26 August 1952, graduated from high school in 1970, and was a student at Bradley University from 1972 through 1976.
3. His available records do not show any military service prior to the FSM's enlistment under the Delayed Entry Program on 16 April 1979. His enlistment contract does not indicate any prior service and his reported work history only goes back to 1976.
4. He served on active duty in the Regular Army from 8 May 1979 through 3 June 1983 with service in Germany from 9 June 1980 through 2 June 1983.
5. On 4 June 1983 the FSM enlisted in the Army Reserve (USAR) and the records shows a reenlistment in the USAR in 1986.
6. The applicant's service medical and dental records are believed to be on permanent loan to the Department of Veterans Affairs and are not available for review.
7. Army Regulation 15185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). Paragraph 2-9 states that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant states the FSM told her he was a POW in Vietnam from 1970 through 1972 but his records were sealed for this period because he was working for the CIA. The FSM told her he had had been wounded in an escape from a Vietnamese prison and spent six months in a German hospital recovering. She believes the FSM should be shown to have been a POW and to have received two DD Forms 214.
2. The available records do not shed any light on what the applicant was doing from the time he graduated from high school in 1970 until he entered college in 1972.
3. While there is always a possibility that what the FSM told his wife is true; she has not provided and the record does not contain any evidence that this was in fact the case or that the FSM had any military service prior to his 1979 enlistment.
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.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
____X____ ____X____ ____X____ 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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
_______ _ __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) AR20110003452
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110003452
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110009540
She also requests a personal hearing: * his prisoner of war (POW) status and the POW Medal * his Green Beret status * Silver Star * Bronze Star Medal * Air Medal * Purple Heart * Republic of Vietnam Wound Medal * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation * South Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal, 2nd Class * Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar * Parachutist Badge * his foreign service in Vietnam 2. The FSM was...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080018359
The applicant requests that her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart. There is no evidence in the FSM's service personnel records which shows that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds. Regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows that the FSM sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, and that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090011847
The applicant provides the FSM's Certificate of Death, Marriage License, WD AGO Form 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation Certificate of Service), VA documents, and the letter and attachments the applicant submitted to her Congressional Representative. There is no documentation in the reconstructed records that shows the FSM was a POW. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding the FSM the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130014619
The applicant states: * he made new discoveries of his deceased father's injuries suffered while he was a prisoner of war (POW) under the Japanese during World War II (WWII); his name is listed as a POW on the National Archives * his father received several injuries while a POW and those injuries are documented through his personal interviews and his medical records 3. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Service) shows he departed the continental...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130010986
The FSM's military records are not available to the Board for review. The FSM's record contains a U.S. Army Medical Department admission and disposition form which shows he was admitted by his command on 4 March 1919, for an old gunshot wound to the left scapula which was incurred in the Argonne Forest on 5 October 1918. The evidence of record shows the FSM was wounded on 5 October 1918, captured, and held as a POW in Germany, until he was released from captivity on 26 January 1919.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090011449
BOARD DATE: 15 December 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090011449 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). The applicant's submission is new evidence which will be considered by the Board.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090013859
The applicant requests the DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) of her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show two awards of the Bronze Star Medal, three awards of the Purple Heart, and the Silver Star. Item 9 (Awards, Decorations, and Campaigns) of the FSM's DA Form 2-1 does not list awards of the Purple Heart or the Bronze Star Medal. In this case, there are no general orders that show the FSM was awarded the Purple Heart; there...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090002886
IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 10 September 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090002886 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. The FSM's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) contains an AGPZ Form 80 (Report of Casualty), dated 14 February 1968, which shows he died from a gunshot wound he received while in a building when engaged in a firefight against a hostile force. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100011870
(1) The MAB Chief acknowledged that the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) awarded the POW Medal to Mr. W____ B____ [the individual piloting the helicopter on 31 January 1968]. e. An email message from the applicant to Mr. C____ advises him that Mr. B____ [the aircraft's pilot] had informed him the names of the crew of the helicopter that crashed on 31 January 1968 had been added to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office confirming their POW status. f. An...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002080592C070215
The applicant’s separation document notes that he returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged on 28 June 1945 under a certificate of disability for discharge. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Prisoner of War Medal. The Board, accepts the documents provided by the applicant as evidence to conclude that he was a POW of German forces for approximately 6 hours on the morning of 16 December 1944, when his unit...