IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  13 December 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120008428 


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 Reports of Transfer or Discharge) to show the:

* Air Medal
* Aircraft Crewman Badge (now known as the Aviation Badge)

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he is eligible to receive the Air Medal and Aviation Badge based on the duties he performed as a door gunner/crew chief.

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 for the period ending 27 April 1970
* Two witness statements
* Page 3 of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* Special Orders Number 333, issued by Headquarters, 4th Infantry division, dated 29 November 1969
* Helicopter Accident Report from an unknown source

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
23 September 1968 and he held military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman). 

3.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 shows he received all "excellent" conduct and efficiency ratings throughout his service.  During his period of service in Vietnam he performed the duties of:

* a rifleman from 5 April 1969 through 26 September 1969 while assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 4th Infantry Division
* a door gunner from 27 September 1969 to on or about 13 February 1970 while assigned to Company A, 4th Aviation Battalion, 4th Infantry Division

4.  His record contains medical documents that show he sustained injuries to his spine and fractures to his vertebra as the result of a helicopter accident on 
13 February 1970.  He was initially treated at the 249th General Hospital in Japan, and later transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington DC for convalescent care.

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 27 April 1970 by reason of early separation of overseas returnee.  He completed 1 year, 7 months, and 5 days of total active service.  The DD Form 214 he was issued shows he was awarded the:

* National Defense Service Medal
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960)
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-14)
* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16)


6.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show the requested awards.  Additionally, his records do not contain orders authorizing or awarding him the requested awards.

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 orders for the Air Medal pertaining to the applicant.

8.  He provides:

	a.  a witness statement from a retired Army colonel and former warrant officer.  The officer stated the applicant flew with him as a crew chief and during a mission on 13 February 1970 their aircraft experienced a mechanical failure and was forced to make an emergency landing.  After the impact all personnel exited the aircraft but one member with more severe injuries was pulled from the wrecked aircraft by the applicant.

	b.  a witness statement from a second retired Army colonel and former warrant officer.  In his statement he recalls the applicant performed daily flights as a crew chief, flying 10-12 hours a day, six days a week, in aerial support of Soldiers in Vietnam.  He was surprised to hear the applicant was not awarded the Air Medal or crew chief status.

	c.  Special Orders Number 333, dated 29 November 1969, that appointed/promoted him to the temporary rank/grade of specialist four (SP4)/E-4 in MOS 67A (Aircraft Maintenance Mechanic), effective 17 November 1969.

	d.  an accident report from an unknown source which lists the details of the helicopter accident in which the applicant was injured in on 13 February 1970.  This report includes the applicant's name as one of four crew members.

9.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided, in pertinent part, guidelines for award of the Air Medal.  It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations.  It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours.  Twenty-five Category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) and accrual of a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in Category I missions was the standard established for which sustained operations 


were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal.  However, the regulation was clear these guidelines were considered only a departure point.

10.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Awards), in effect at the time, provided for temporary and permanent award of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.  The regulation authorized the commander of any unit with Army aircraft assigned to publish orders allowing qualified members of that command to wear the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.

	a.  To be eligible for temporary award of this badge an individual had to be on flying status as a crew chief in the case of crew chiefs, electronic sensor system operators, and flight engineers, or as a non-crewmember in the case of observers, medical aidmen, gunners, aircraft maintenance supervisors, or technical inspectors.  The regulation also required individuals to be qualified based on a Class III physical examination and to hold a principal duty assignment as a crew chief, flight engineer, aircraft maintenance supervisor, observer, gunner, or technical inspector.  These personnel are authorized to wear the badge temporarily until relieved from these duties or they may be authorized permanent wear of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge once they have fulfilled the regulatory requirements for permanent award of the badge.

	b.  For permanent award of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge, an individual must have performed in one of the duties specified above for not less than 12 months (not necessarily consecutive) or must have been school trained for a principal duty specified above.  Personnel who are precluded by incapacitation from further flight duty due to wounds sustained as a result of hostile action or injuries resulting from an aircraft accident for which they are not personally responsible are entitled to permanent wear of the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.  Further, an individual who has participated in at least 15 combat missions under probable exposure to enemy fire while serving in the principal duty of crew chief, flight engineer, aircraft maintenance supervisor, observer, gunner, or technical inspector is entitled to permanent award of the Aircraft Crewmen Badge.

	c.  The Army Good Conduct Medal was awarded for each 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service completed on or after 
27 August 1940; for first award only, 1 year served entirely during the period 
7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946; and, for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year.  The enlisted person must have had all "excellent" conduct and efficiency ratings and no convictions by a court-martial.  


11.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the awards received by units serving in Vietnam.  This pamphlet shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned was cited for award of the:

* Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period 1 August 1965 through 16 April 1971 by Department of the Army General Order (DAGO) Number 54, dated 1974
* Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation for the period 1 October 1966 through 31 October 1969 by DAGO Number 53, dated 1970

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), paragraph 2-13, contains the regulatory guidance on the Vietnam Service Medal.  It states a bronze service star is authorized with this award for each Vietnam campaign a member is credited with participating in.  Appendix B shows that during his service in Vietnam, the applicant participated in the following three campaigns:

* Tet 69 Counteroffensive (23 February 1969 - 8 June 1969)
* Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 (9 June - 31 October 1969)
* Vietnam Winter-Spring (1 November 1969 - 30 April 1970)

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests correction of his DD Form 214 to show the Air Medal and the Aviation Badge.

2.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 authorized the permanent award of the Aircraft Crewman Badge when the individual performed in one of the duties specified, which included crew chief and door gunner, for not less than 12 months (not necessarily consecutive).  Personnel who were precluded by incapacitation from further flight duty due to wounds sustained as a result of hostile action or injuries resulting from an aircraft accident for which they are not personally responsible were also entitled to permanent wear of the Aircraft Crewman Badge.

3.  His record shows and witness statements corroborate he performed the duties of a 67A as a door gunner from 27 September 1969 until he was injured in a helicopter crash on 13 February 1970.  Based on the available evidence he meets the requirements for permanent award the Aviation Badge.

4.  He received all "excellent" conduct and efficiency ratings during his period of service.  He was not the subject of any disciplinary action, and there is no record of a commander's disqualification for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to award him the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award) based on completion of a qualifying period of active Federal service and correct his DD Form 214 to show this award.

5.  He was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal and he participated in three campaigns while serving in Vietnam.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show three bronze service stars for wear on the previously-awarded Vietnam Service Medal.

6.  The evidence of record shows he is entitled to wear the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show these unit awards.  

7.  There are no general orders available that show he was awarded the Air Medal.  The governing regulation requires a formal recommendation, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders for award of the Air Medal.  In the absence of orders or other independent evidence that would confirm he completed the number of missions necessary to be awarded the Air Medal, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Air Medal in this case.

8.  In view of the above, his request should be granted partial relief.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____X___  ____X___  ___X__ _  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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

a. deleting the Vietnam Service Medal from his DD Form 214;


b. awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award) for the period 
23 September 1968 to 27 April 1970; and

c. adding the following awards to his DD Form 214:

*	Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award)
* Aviation Badge
*	Three bronze service stars to be worn on his previously-awarded Vietnam Service Medal
*	Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation
*	Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to award of Air Medal.




      _______ _  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)                                         AR20120008428





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120008428



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