BOARD DATE:	  16 October 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120006293 


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 earlier request for award of the Combat Medical Badge (CMB).

2.  The applicant states:

* the earlier Board decision contained inaccurate information concerning his duties performed and military occupational specialty (MOS) while in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN)

*	he was assigned to Charlie Company, an infantry platoon
*	he served as a medic and performed about 6 field operations where the company received and returned fire
*	he never performed any clerical duties while in the RVN  
*	he remembers before and after each field operation that M-16 rounds and syrettes would be dispensed and collected
*	he walked through rice patties, villages, and was on an operation in the RVN when he received word of his mother's death

3.  The applicant provides:

* 4 letters with postmarks showing they were mailed from the RVN
* 2-page document written in Vietnamese



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 AR20110016548, on 16 February 2012.

2.  As new evidence the applicant provides copies of 7 letters with post-marked envelopes showing he was in the RVN.   These are considered new evidence and as such warrant consideration by the Board.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 12 October 1966, and was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 91B (Medical Specialist).   The highest rank/grade he attained while on active duty was specialist four/E-4.

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

a. He served in the RVN from 14 December 1967 through 17 February 1968.

b. Item 38 (Record of Assignments),  he was assigned to:

   *	Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 1st Battalion 
   	(Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, performing duties in MOS 70A as 
   	a clerk through 19 January 1968
   *	he was a company aidman through 17 February 1968
   
   c.	Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not include the CMB in the list of earned awards entered.  

5.  The record is void of documents or orders indicating he was ever recommended for or awarded the CMB, or that confirms his presence and participation with his unit while it was engaged in active ground combat with enemy forces.  

6.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 11 October 1968 in the rank of specialist four/E-4.  He completed 2 years of active military service.  

7.  His DD Form 214.  His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the following:

* National Defense Service Medal (NDSM)
* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar
* Parachutist Badge
* Vietnam Service Medal (VSM)
* Army Good Conduct Medal

8.  The applicant provides copies of 4 letters, dated 25 December 1967 through 12 January 1968, with postmarks from his unit of assignment in the RVN.  He also provides a 2-page document written in Vietnamese and without a translation.  One letter, dated 9 January 1968, stated in part, “…but as far as the danger involved, I have been on three operations in the jungle and not only didn’t I see any Viet Cong but I didn’t even see an angry Vietnamese farmer….”

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) contains the Army’s awards policy.  Chapter 8 contains guidance on Badges and Tabs of U.S. Origin and paragraph 8-7 contains guidance on award of the CMB.  It states the CMB may be awarded to members of the Army Medical Department (Colonels and below) assigned or attached by appropriate orders to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size, or to a medical unit of company or smaller size, organic to an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period the infantry unit is engaged in actual ground combat on or after 6 December 1941.  Battle participation credit alone is not sufficient; the infantry unit must have been in contact with the enemy. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for award of the CMB has again been carefully considered.

2.  Although he provided letters and a 2-page Vietnamese document showing he was in the RVN, this alone does not show he participated in combat.

3.  Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of official documentary evidence showing he was ever recommended for or awarded the CMB by proper authority while serving in the RVN, or that confirms his presence and participation with his qualifying infantry unit while it was engaged in active ground combat with enemy forces, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him the CMB.

4.  The applicant and all others concerned should know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.




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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20110016548, dated 16 February 2012.




      _______ _ 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)                                         AR20120006293



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120006293



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