IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 September 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120005265
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 reconsideration of his request for correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM).
2. He states he is providing declassified documents that clearly show the 2nd Missile Battalion, 71st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, was an Army tactical unit in the air defense of Formosa during the "Matsu-Quemoy Crisis" (the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis).
3. The applicant provides:
* self-authored statement
* letter of support, dated 2 April 2012
* Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) message, dated 25 August 1958
* excerpts from information furnished by Brigadier General L____ S. B____ pertaining to the "Battle of the Taiwan Strait" in 1958
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20110015199 on 7 February 2012.
2. The letter of support; JCS message, dated 25 August 1958; and excerpts from information furnished by Brigadier General L____ S. B____ pertaining to the "Battle of the Taiwan Strait" in 1958 were not previously considered by the Board.
3. As stated in the previous case, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 8 November 1957 for a period of 2 years. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 357.10 (Guided Missile Instrument Electrician). He was assigned to the 2nd Missile Battalion (Nike-Hercules), 71st Artillery, Camp Nike-Hercules, Taiwan.
4. In the previous case, the applicant was denied award of the AFEM based on a lack of evidence verifying U.S. Army involvement during the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis.
5. In the information furnished by Brigadier General L____ S. B____, the author states he was the Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Army. He recounted his participation in the "Battle of the Taiwan Strait" and said they put on a night fire demonstration for the Communists on 15 August 1958. The demonstration resulted in the Communists giving up their invasion plan as the boats stopped their landing practice. He further stated the Communists fired 58,750 artillery rounds on them on 23 August 1958 and he cabled the U.S. Army Secretary for permission to respond. His request was approved and he immediately ordered a missile battalion to Taiwan to help him.
6. The message from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dated 25 August 1958, shows several units were deployed to Taiwan in anticipation of continued Chinese Communist action against the off-shore islands. These units included the 2nd Missile Battalion (Nike-Hercules), 71st Artillery.
7. He also provided a letter of support from the President, 2nd Missile Battalion, 71st Artillery (Taiwan) Association, dated 2 April 2012. The author stated all U.S. Army personnel with documented service on Taiwan during the period of qualification were awarded the AFEM. He added that this included U.S. military advisors assigned to MAAG-Taiwan as well as direct support troops. He continued by stating the 2nd Missile Battalion, 71st Artillery Regiment, was engaged in hazardous activity in defense of Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait. He maintained that the 2nd Missile Battalion, 71st Artillery Regiment, was the only U.S. Army tactical unit on Taiwan.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the AFEM is authorized for qualifying service after 1 July 1958 in military operations within a specific geographic area during specified time periods. An individual who was not engaged in actual combat or equally hazardous activity must have been a bona fide member of a unit participating in or engaged in the direct support of the operation for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days provided this support involved entering the area of operations. Qualifying service for this award includes participation in the Taiwan Strait as a designated U.S. military operation during the period 23 August 1958 to 1 January 1959.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The letter from the Chief, MAAG, recounting his unit involvement in the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis as well as the JCS message verifying the 2nd Missile Battalion (Nike-Hercules), 71st Artillery, deployment to Taiwan are sufficient evidence to substantiate his qualification for award of the AFEM. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his DD Form 214 to show this award.
BOARD VOTE:
____x___ ___x____ ____x___ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20110015199, dated 7 February 2012. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding the AFEM to his DD Form 214.
_____________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) AR20120005265
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120005265
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