IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 3 January 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110013727
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 his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty) be corrected to show he was a prisoner of war (POW).
2. The applicant states he was held captive in Vietnam for four months.
3. The applicant provides a six-page personal statement and his DD Form 214.
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 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.
3. The applicant served on active duty in the Regular Army from 31 January 1969 through 14 March 1975. He was awarded and served in military occupational special 11H (Infantry Direct Fire Crewman) training.
4. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) provides the following:
a. service as a gunner with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade. 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam from 15 May 1970 through 28 September 1970;
b. receipt of a shrapnel wound to his hip on 24 August 1970;
c. medical evacuation from Vietnam with hospitalization at the 249th General Hospital and Great Lakes Naval Hospital from 29 August 1970 through 23 November 1970; and
d. returned to Vietnam and served as a gunner with Troop A, 4th Squadron, 12th Cavalry regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division from 17 May 1971 through 5 February 1972.
5. In his personal statement, the applicant recounts his service and capture in Vietnam. He states he was wounded and received his initial treatment from a company medic. While being transported to a support hospital by truck, the truck was attacked and disabled. He and three other Soldiers were captured and held in a bamboo-covered pit. They escaped and made their way back to the 25th Artillery Division although two of the others were killed by a sniper en route. Upon return to military control he was evacuated for medical treatment to "China Beach," an Air Force hospital in Japan, and ultimately to Great Lakes Naval Hospital. He received treatment for his wound and received reconstruction on his face. After his escape he was surprised to hear he had been listed as missing in action (MIA). He does not remember specifically how long he was a POW, but it may have been anywhere from one to four months.
6. A review of several POW/MIA rosters failed to locate the applicant's name on any official or unofficial list.
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 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 time line provided by the applicant on his wounding, capture, escape, and subsequent medical treatment does not match the official records of his service during the period he contends he was a POW.
2. The record does not contain and the applicant has not provided any evidence that he was ever considered to have been MIA or was captured and held as a POW.
3. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to warrant granting the applicant any relief.
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) AR20110013727
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110013727
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