IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  17 January 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120010200 


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.

2.  He states:

	a.  he arrived in Vietnam in January 1969 and he was assigned to the
37th Medical Company at Blackhorse Base Camp.  For the first 2 months, he worked in the motor pool as an ambulance orderly and provided ambulance coverage for convoys traveling to and from Long Binh.

	b.  in May 1969, he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) as a medical aidman.  He was told to ride with Troop G on 26 May 1969.

	c.  during May and June 1969, Troop G was involved in firefights during search and destroy missions.  The DA Forms 1594 (Daily Staff Journal or Duty Officer's Log) for Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR for the period 26 May through 29 June 1969 document combat encounters that required him to perform medical duties under enemy fire.

	d.  while they were in Quan Loi preparing to move north to Loc Ninh, the platoon's lieutenant came to their track vehicle and told him to get over to the airstrip because he was going back to the United States.  He was given 21 days 


of emergency leave due to his wife's life-threatening pregnancy complications.  The 21 days of emergency leave was later changed to a compassionate reassignment to Selfridge Air Force Base (AFB), MI.  He finished his enlistment at Selfridge AFB and was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 28th Artillery Group.

	e.  due to his emergency leave, the paperwork for a Combat Medical Badge never got recorded on his Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) (formerly known as the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)).

	f.  he felt guilty for leaving his unit without a medic and knowing they were moving north to Loc Ninh, an area that was reporting heavy combat with the North Vietnamese Army at the time.

3.  He provides:

* The previous Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings, dated 9 August 2011
* A self-authored letter, dated 21 April 2012
* Two letters of support, dated 11 March and 4 April 2012
* A Distinguished Service Cross citation for a former service member
* A DA Form 1 (Morning Report) of the 37th Medical Company, 11th ACR, dated 3 June 1969
* DA Forms 1594 for Troop G, 2nd Squadron,11th ACR for the period
26 May to 29 June 1969

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 AR20110002091 on 9 August 2011.

2.  The applicant provided new evidence as listed above that was not previously considered that warrants consideration by this Board.

3.  He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 25 March 1968.  He was awarded primary military occupational specialty (PMOS) 91A (Medical Corpsman) on 2 August 1968.  He was awarded PMOS 91B (Medical Aidman) on 1 August 1969.


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

	a.  item 31 (Foreign Service) he served in Vietnam from 31 January through 29 June 1969;

	b.  item 38 (Record of Assignments) he served in duty MOS 91A as an ambulance orderly while assigned to the 37th Medical Company, 11th ACR, from 6 February through 16 May 1969 and in duty MOS 91B as a medical aidman while assigned to HHT, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR, from 17 May through 28 June 1969; and

	c.  item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not show award of the Combat Medical Badge.

5.  Letter Orders Number 6-24, issued by Headquarters, 2nd Squadron,
11th ACR, dated 28 June 1969, authorized the applicant to depart Vietnam on
21 days of emergency leave effective 29 June 1969 due to the illness of his wife.  The applicant's standard name line on these orders shows he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR.

6.  He was honorably released from active duty on 24 March 1970 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his Reserve obligation.  The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time does not show award of the Combat Medical Badge.

7.  His service record does not contain any orders or other evidence showing he was recommended for or awarded the Combat Medical Badge.

8.  He provided the following documents:

	a.  letter, dated 11 March 2012, from a former Senior Medic for Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR, who states the applicant left Blackhorse base camp with Troop G on or about 26 May 1969.  The applicant was sent home from the field on or about 28 June 1969 due to Red Cross intervention.  As the Senior Medic, he was informed immediately after the applicant's departure because the platoon would need his attention as one of the surviving medics.  The applicant was involved in combat for the month with Troop G.  This can be reviewed by log books of Troop G, 11th ACR.  He can personally vouch that the applicant earned the Combat Medical Badge as a platoon medic in armed combat.

	b.  letter, dated 4 April 2012, from the former commanding officer of Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR from December 1968 through July 1969 who states he


does not personally remember the applicant, but he can confirm that O.P., another Soldier, was the senior medic during his command tour.  Mr. P. was responsible for all medics assigned to Troop G and would remember his medics.  He can also confirm that during May and June of 1969, Troop G was involved in actual combat on a daily basis including several major firefights.  Every medic in Troop G was called upon to provide medical care under fire.  Every one of these men absolutely earned and deserves to receive the Combat Medical Badge.

	c.  Distinguished Service Cross citation for the former commander of Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR that indicates he received this award for his heroism in connection with military operations in conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam while commanding Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR.

	d.  DA Form 1 for the 37th Medical Company, 11th ACR, dated 3 June 1969, that indicates the applicant was identified as a reassignment loss and departed this unit on 21 May 1969.

	e.  numerous DA Forms 1594 for Troop G, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR for the period May and June1969 wherein he highlighted incidents involving his unit engaged in combat.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Combat Medical Badge is awarded to medical department personnel (colonel and below) who are assigned or attached to a medical unit of company or smaller size that is organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size which is engaged in active ground combat.  Battle participation credit is not sufficient; the infantry unit must have been in contact with the enemy and the Soldier must have been personally present and under fire during such ground combat.

10.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) did not provide specific guidance for award of the Combat Medical Badge.  However, it did provide detailed guidance on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, which was awarded to infantry personnel based on essentially the same criteria for award of the Combat Medical Badge to medical aid personnel assigned to infantry units.  The regulation stated the Combat Infantryman Badge was authorized for award to infantry personnel who were members of infantry platoons and squads in armored cavalry squadrons and regiments.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded a medical personnel MOS and he served as an ambulance orderly and medical aidman 


with the 37th Medical Company and Headquarters and Headquarters Troop,
2nd Squadron, 11th ACR in Vietnam.

2.  Based on the Military Awards regulation, the Combat Medical Badge is awarded to medical personnel assigned or attached to a medical unit of company or smaller size that is organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size that is engaged in active ground combat.

3.  The DA Forms 1594 provided by the applicant show the unit to which he was assigned, the 11th ACR, was engaged in combat in Vietnam during May and June 1969.  However, his service record is void of evidence that he was personally present and under fire while performing medical duties.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.

BOARD VOTE:

___X___  ___X____  ___X____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  Notwithstanding the staff DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS above, the Board believed the applicant provided sufficient additional evidence to show he met the eligibility criteria for award of the Combat Medical Badge.

2.  The primary evidence was a statement from the former Senior Medic for the applicant’s unit, who stated the applicant was sent home (due to Red Cross intervention) after more than one month in the field.  He also stated the unit was involved in combat for that month.  Secondary evidence was a statement from the applicant’s former troop commander.  Although he did not personally remember the applicant, he confirmed that the Senior Medic who provided the other statement was in fact the unit’s senior medic and had confidence in the accuracy of the information provided by the former Senior Medic.  The Board believed the letters to be true and the sources credible as eyewitnesses.

3.  As a result, the Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant amendment of the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number 20110002091, dated 9 August 2011.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

* Awarding him the Combat Medical Badge for the period May – June 1969
* Adding the Combat Medical Badge to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of transfer of Discharge)




      _______ _  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)                                         AR20120010200



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120010200



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