IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  6 October 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150000358 


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, via a Member of Congress, reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) with ?V? Device and Air Medal.

2.  The applicant states, in effect:
	a.  He believes he should have been awarded the BSM with "V"Device and the Air Medal because other members with whom he served received these awards.

	b.  He served in Vietnam as a combat infantry Soldier with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) from February to June 1968 at which time he received combat-related injuries and was separated from his parent unit due to his injuries.

	c.  Over the years he kept in contact with his combat brothers and learned that many of them received honors and awards for meritorious efforts he shared with them while serving in Vietnam.  The reason he did not receive these awards is that he was wounded on 20 June 1968 and forced to receive medical care outside of Vietnam.

	d.  He attempted to resolve these issues with the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).  He has exhausted his request for reconsideration and has been advised to seek relief in a court of appropriate jurisdiction or to contact a Member of Congress under Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1130.

3.  The applicant provides the enclosures outlined in his letter to a Member of Congress, dated 5 December 2014.

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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20140001360 on 2 September 2014.

2.  The applicant's contentions addressed in his letter to a Member of Congress, dated 5 December 2014, are new evidence that will be considered by the Board.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 September 1967.  He served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 28 February 1968 until he was wounded in action on 20 June 1968 and transferred to the United States on 10 July 1968 for further medical treatment.  On 12 September 1969, he was honorably released from active duty.

4.  His DD Form 214 does not show the BSM with "V" Device or Air Medal as authorized awards.

5.  There are no orders for the BSM with "V" Device or Air Medal in the available records.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show these awards.

6.  The available records do not contain any flight records.

7.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal any orders for the BSM with "V" Device or Air Medal pertaining to the applicant.

8.  The applicant provided correspondence he wrote to a Member of Congress, dated 5 December 2014, which states:

	a.  Prior to being evacuated from Vietnam due to injuries he sustained on 20 June 1968, he and another Soldier rescued a wounded comrade under hostile fire conditions on 25 May 1968.  The other Soldier received the BSM with "V" Device for his heroic actions on that day.

	b.  The same Soldier also received the Air Medal for his meritorious achievements while participating in aerial flights with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) during the period October 1967 to June 1968.  The applicant served with this Soldier from February 1968 to 20 June 1968.

9.  He provided photographs of himself and the other Soldier in Vietnam.

10.  He provided a hand drawn map of where the act of heroism took place in Vietnam on 25 May 1968.

11.  He provided a statement from the other Soldier, dated 20 November 2014, and documentation showing this Soldier received the BSM with "V" Device for heroism on 25 May 1968 and the Air Medal.  The citation for award of the BSM with "V" Device does not mention the applicant's name.  This documentation was previously considered by the Board.

12.  He also provided a letter from his former platoon sergeant in Vietnam indicating he should have been awarded the BSM with "V" Device and the Air Medal.  This letter was previously considered by the Board.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the BSM is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service not involving participation in aerial flight in connection with military operations against an armed enemy or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.  As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.  The regulation also states the bronze "V" device indicates acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy and authorizes the device in conjunction with awards of the BSM.

14.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided guidelines for award of the Air Medal during the period in question.  It stated 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 that these guidelines were considered only a departure point.

	a.  Combat missions were divided into three categories.  A category I mission was defined as a mission performed in an assault role in which a hostile force was engaged and was characterized by delivery of ordnance against the hostile force or delivery of friendly troops or supplies into the immediate combat operations area.  A category II mission was characterized by support rendered a friendly force immediately before, during, or immediately following a combat operation.  A category III mission was characterized by support of friendly forces not connected with an immediate combat operation but which must have been accomplished at altitudes which made the aircraft at times vulnerable to small arms fire or under hazardous weather or terrain conditions.

	b.  To be recommended for award of the Air Medal, an individual must have completed a minimum of 25 category I missions, 50 category II missions, or 100 category III missions.  Since various types of missions would have been completed in accumulating flight time toward award of an Air Medal for sustained operations, different computations would have had to be made to combine category I, II, and III flight times and adjust it to a common denominator.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends he and another Soldier rescued a wounded comrade under hostile fire conditions on 25 May 1968 in Vietnam and the other Soldier received the BSM with "V" Device for his heroic actions on that day, but he didn't. However, there is no evidence and the applicant provided no evidence which shows he was recommended for or awarded the BSM with "V" Device for heroism on 25 May 1968 in Vietnam.

2.  His contention that he served with a Soldier who received the Air Medal for meritorious achievements while participating in aerial flight with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) during the period October 1967 to June 1968 was noted.  However, there is no evidence and the applicant provided no evidence which shows he met the criteria for award of the Air Medal for the period February to June 1968.


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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20140001360, dated 2 September 2014.



      _____________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)                                         AR20150000358



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150000358



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