IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 19 April 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110021466
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 the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) be added to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
2. The applicant states:
* He was not aware he had been recommended for the award by his commander prior to leaving Vietnam
* At a reunion in 2000 his unit commander asked him if he had received the BSM he had recommended him for
* Upon hearing he had not received the BSM, his unit commander said he would see that it was done
* the boxed presentation arrived shortly thereafter but without the citation
3. The applicant provides:
* page 4 of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* 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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on
18 September 1967. He served as a medical specialist in the 23rd Infantry Division in Vietnam from 11 March 1968 to 22 April 1969. On 26 April 1969, he was released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation.
3. His DD Form 214 does not show the BSM as an authorized award.
4. There are no orders for the Bronze Star Medal in the available records.
5. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the BSM pertaining to the applicant.
6. He provided page 4 of his DA Form 20 which shows the entry "BSM 24 JAN 69" in item 41 (Awards and Decorations). Every general order issued by the 23rd Infantry Division on 24 January 1969 was reviewed. There is no order awarding the applicant the BSM on that date.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the BSM is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy, or while engaged n military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he was unaware he had been recommended for the BSM prior to leaving Vietnam and that he received the medal in 2000.
2. There are no orders for the BSM in the available records. In the absence of orders or other corroborating evidence, the entry in item 41 of his DA Form
20 alone is not sufficient as a basis for adding this medal to his DD Form 214. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence in which to grant the applicant's requested 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) AR20110021466
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110021466
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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