IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 March 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130013136
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 that his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to show in item 12 that his last unit of assignment was the 402nd Infantry Company.
2. The applicant states that his DD Form 214 incorrectly reflects that he was discharged from the 567th Transportation Company as a duty Soldier when in fact he was serving in combat with the 402nd Infantry Company. He also states that he only served with the 567th Transportation Company for 3 months and was then transferred to the 402nd Infantry Company and was in active combat.
3. The applicant provides a three-page letter from his spouse and a copy of his DD Form 214.
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 in Chicago, Illinois on 2 February 1968 and was transferred to Fort Polk, Louisiana where he underwent his basic training before being transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas for duty as a duty Soldier in military occupational specialty (MOS) 57A1O.
3. On 26 August 1968, orders were published reassigning the applicant to the Overseas Replacement Station at Oakland, California for movement to Vietnam with a report date of 29 September 1968.
4. He departed Fort Bliss on 5 September 1968 and did not report to Oakland as ordered and remained absent until he was returned to military control in Chicago on 28 October 1968 and was transferred to the Special Processing Detachment at Fort Riley, Kansas.
5. On 5 November 1968, nonjudicial punishment (NJP) was imposed against him for being absent without leave from 29 September to 28 October 1968 (29 days). His punishment consisted of a reduction to the pay grade of E-1 and a forfeiture of $51.00 per month for 2 months.
6. He was transferred to Vietnam on 20 November 1968 and was initially assigned to the 154th Transportation Company (Terminal Services). On 1 December 1968 he was transferred to the 567th Transportation Company (Terminal Services) in Long Binh.
7. On 5 April 1969, while serving in the rank of private first class in the 567th Transportation Company, NJP was imposed against the applicant for disobeying a lawful order from a superior noncommissioned officer.
8. The applicant departed Vietnam on 17 November 1969 and was transferred to Oakland Army base, California where he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on 19 November 1969 as an overseas returnee. He had served 1 year, 8 months and 20 days of active service and had 29 days of lost time due to AWOL. His DD Form 214 issued at the time of his REFRAD shows his last unit of assignment as the 567th Transportation Company (Terminal Services).
9. A review of his records failed to show any evidence of the applicant serving in any other units. However, historical records show that the 402nd Transportation Company known as The Deuce was a terminal transfer unit stationed in Long Binh during the same period. There were no infantry units assigned to Vietnam with the designation of 402 during any period of the Vietnam War.
10. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) serves as the authority for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It provides, in pertinent part, that the DD Form 214 will be prepared from information obtained from official records in effect at the time the DD Form 214 is issued.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicants contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show that his last unit of assignment in Vietnam was the 402nd Infantry Company has been noted and found to lack merit.
2. The applicant has failed to show through the evidence of record and the evidence submitted with his application that his record is in error.
3. While there was a 402nd Transportation Company at the same location as the applicant that was under the same operational control as his company, there is no evidence in the available records to show that he was assigned to that unit.
4. There is also no evidence in the available records that show that there was ever an infantry unit assigned to Vietnam with a 402nd unit designation.
5. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to support his contentions, there appears to be no basis to grant his request for a change of his records.
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) AR20130013136
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130013136
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