BOARD DATE:	  4 October 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120007372 


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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his service in Vietnam and to show all awards he earned during his military service.

2.  The applicant states he served in Vietnam with the 25th Infantry Division from May 1968 to May 1969, but this service is not shown on his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214, the first page of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rating decision, and copies of two pictures.

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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 3 January 1968 for a period of 3 years.  He completed initial entry training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 63B (wheel vehicle mechanic).

3.  His complete military records are not available for review.  His available record contains a message from the Commander, 575th Personnel Service Company (PSC), Darmstadt, Germany to the Commander, U.S. Army Personnel Service Center, Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN, subject:  Request for Reconstructed Records pertaining to the applicant, dated 30 November 1970.  The message states, in effect, the applicant arrived this station without his Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) or DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), and all efforts to locate missing records have failed.  The applicant was presently assigned to Battery B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery.

4.  There is no available evidence of record, such as his DA Form 20, pay records, reassignment orders, awards orders, or other documents that confirm a tour of duty in Vietnam.

5.  On 23 December 1970, he was honorably released from active duty on temporary records by reason of early separation from overseas.  Item 22c (Foreign and/or Sea Service) of his DD Form 214 shows he served in "USAREUR" (U.S. Army Europe) for a period of 1 year, 3 months, and 19 days.  His DD Form 214 also shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar     (M-16).

6.  There are no orders or any other evidence in his available record indicating he was awarded any other awards that are not already listed on his DD Form 214.

7.  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 U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any awards orders pertaining to the applicant.

8.  He provided the first page of a VA rating decision, dated 20 April 2010, that indicates he filed a claim for increased evaluation on 8 May 2009.  He also provides a copy of two photographs of an individual in a military uniform while in a field environment.

9.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, specified that item 22c would contain the total amount of active duty served outside the continental limits of the United States during the period covered by the DD Form 214 and the last overseas theater in which the service was performed, e.g., (USAREUR).

10.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army acting through the ABCMR.  Paragraph 2-9 states the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his service in Vietnam and to show all awards he earned during his military service has been carefully reviewed.

2.  It is noted there is a possibility that a portion of his military records was lost.  Unfortunately, there is no evidence of record and he did not provide sufficient evidence that shows he participated in the Vietnam conflict or that he received additional awards which are not listed on his DD Form 214.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting 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)                                         AR20120007372



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120007372



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