IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  27 September 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120005642 


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, in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his Prisoner of War (POW) status and his airborne training.

2.  He states he attended airborne jump school at Fort Bragg, NC and received three weeks of airborne training from the 82nd Airborne Division.  He adds directly following his training, he received an additional 4 weeks of training with the 7th Special Forces Group (SFG).  He made 20 parachute jumps and did survival training in Puerto Rico.  He was wounded in January/February 1967 while on patrol in Vietnam and sustained shrapnel injuries to his forehead and left knee.  He states he was medically evacuated and had surgery performed on his left knee to remove the shrapnel.  However, he declined a celebration to receive the Purple Heart because he felt his injury was insignificant in comparison to his friend who gave his life.  Additionally, he states that during his service in Vietnam he was captured in a convoy ambush in April/May 1968 and buried in a box underground for three days. 

3.  The applicant provides his self-authored statement.

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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 
20 September 1966.  He was trained in, awarded, and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 05C (Radio Teletype Operator).  He served in Vietnam from 27 September 1967 to on or about 11 September 1968.  He was honorably released from active duty on 11 September 1968.

3.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in:

* item 27 (Military Education), the title of the course, weeks, and year as follows:

* Inter Speed Radio Operator, 10 weeks, 1967
* Radio Teletype Operator, 11 weeks, August 1967 

* item 38 (Record of Assignment), the effective date and the organization and station or theater as follows:

* 19 April 1967, Enroute to Fort Bragg, NC
* 21 April 1967 to 16 August 1967, Signal Company, 7th SFG, 1st SF 
* 17 August 1967, Enroute to U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC)
* 9 October 1967 to 10 September 1968, Company C, 124th Signal Battalion, 4th Infantry Division USARPAC
* 11 September 1968, Enroute to Continental United States

* item 40 (Wounds), no entry

4.  There are no orders in the applicant's records that show he attended airborne training.  There is no "P" listed in the 5th character of his MOS to indicate he is airborne qualified.

5.  His military personnel file is void of any documents or evidence that show he completed airborne training or was a POW.


6.  His military service records do not contain any orders awarding him the Purple Heart and there is no evidence to show he was wounded during his service in Vietnam.  Additionally, his name is not listed on the Vietnam casualty listing or the POW Listing maintained by the Library of Congress.

7.  Item 23 (Specialty Number and Title) of his DD Form 214 shows his MOS as 05C2O.  Item 25 (Education and Training Completed) of this form does not list airborne training.  Item 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the same form does not show award of the POW Medal or the Parachutist Badge.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive after 5 April 1917.  The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel and other personnel granted creditable U.S. military service who were taken prisoner and held captive:

* while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States
* while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force
* while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party
* by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, sets forth requirements for award of the basic Parachutist Badge.  Award of the basic Parachutist Badge requires that an individual must have satisfactorily completed the prescribed proficiency tests while assigned or attached to an airborne unit or the Airborne Department of the Infantry School, or have participated in at least one combat parachute jump.

10.  Army Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel) in effect at the time, states that the special qualification identifier (SQI) is the fifth character of the MOS.  It identifies any special qualification that a Soldier has, such as parachutist "P."  The commander having custody of the Soldier's Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) or the training activity commander will award the SQI by announcing the SQI in orders.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no orders in the applicant's records announcing the award of the Parachutist Badge.  His MOS does not contain a "P" in the fifth character to indicate that he is airborne qualified.  Further, his DA Form 20 does not list airborne school in his military education block.  In the absence of such evidence, there is an insufficient basis to add his airborne training to his DD Form 214 and/or award him the Parachutist Badge. 

2.  There is no evidence and he did not submit any evidence to show he was a POW.  Without official evidence or documentation to corroborate his contention, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for correcting his records and awarding him POW status and/or the POW Medal.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting his request. 

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)                                         AR20120005642





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120005642



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