IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  23 May 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110022374 


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 be corrected to show his foreign service included service not just in Vietnam but also during World War II (WWII) and Korea. 

2.  The applicant states that although his DD Form 214 does include his awards for his service in all three wars, it appears to show that he had foreign service only in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of 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 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, a retired colonel, had 1 year, 3 months, and 25 days of enlisted service prior to being commissioned a field artillery officer on 24 October 1944.  He served continuously on active duty for a total of 32 years, 9 months, and 2 days. 

3.  The available DA Form 66 (Officer Record Brief) (ORB) records his foreign service as in:

* Europe Theater of Operation from 23 January 1945 through 21 June 1945 (4 months, 30 days); 
* Japan from 4 September 1948 through 4 September 1950 (2 years, 1 day)
* Korea from 5 September 1950 through 4 June 1951 (9 months); 
* Japan from 5 June 1951 through 23 June 1951 (18 days);
* Europe from 11 August 1954 through 3 July 1957 (2 years, 10 months, 23 days);
* Korea from 13 July 1964 through 21 July 1965 (1 year, 9 months); 
* Vietnam from 15 May 1972 through 30 March 1973 (10 months, 16 days).

4.  The available DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record (PQR)), that appears to have been created on or about 1 August 1973, records 74 months of overseas service prior to 1 October 1960, service in Korea from 13 July 1964 through 21 July 1965 and service in Vietnam from 15 May 1972 through 30 March 1973.

5.  The applicant retired on 31 March 1976.  His DD Form 214 shows, at item 18f (Foreign and/or Sea Service), 8 years and 25 days with a notation in item 27 (Remarks) the country of service as Vietnam.

6.  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 establishes standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214 and states for the foreign service entry, enter the total amount of foreign service completed during the period covered by the DD Form 214.  At the time of the applicant's retirement, a designation of last country of foreign service was to be entered in remarks section.  The regulation currently does not require a country of service; however, periods of deployment in areas of entitlement to hostile fire or imminent danger pay are recorded, at Remarks, with the statement "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD - YYYYMMDD)".



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's period of foreign service appears to have been incompletely calculated on his DD Form 214.  By adding the individual periods of foreign service from his ORB and PQR, the applicant's total period of foreign service is 8 years, 8 months, and 28 days.  It is appropriate to correct item 18f on the DD Form 214 to show the correct total period as "08 08 28."

2.  The entry of only Vietnam as a country designation was appropriate at the time the DD Form 214 was created and there is no technical error in the manner of this designation.

3.  However, without further information on the DD Form 214, the single country entry is misleading as it gives the appearance that the applicant served in Vietnam for eight years and does not indicate that he also served in the two proceeding wars.  

4.  While this is not an error, application of current procedures to include statements currently utilized to document a Soldier's deployment to hostile fire zones would eliminate this perceived error and document the fact that the applicant had foreign service in Europe (during WWII), Korea, and Vietnam.  

5.  Therefore, as an exception to policy, it is appropriate to correct the applicant's DD Form 214 to show his periods of foreign service in Europe (during WWII), Korea, and Vietnam, in the same manner as current deployments are recorded by adding, at item 27, the following statements:  "SERVICE IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS FROM 19450123 THRU 19450621", "SERVICE IN KOREA FROM 19500905 THRU 19510604", and "SERVICE IN VIETNAM FROM 19720515 THRU 19730330."

BOARD VOTE:

___X____  ___X ___  ____X___  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION




BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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

	a.  correcting item 18f to show 08 08 28; 

	b.  by deleting the current item 27 entry "ITEM 18F: VIETNAM" and 

	c.  adding ,at item 27, the following statements: "SERVICE IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS FROM 19450123 THRU 19450621", "SERVICE IN KOREA FROM 19500905 THRU 19510604", and "SERVICE IN VIETNAM FROM 19720515 THRU 19730330."



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20110022374





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110022374



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