IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  27 October 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150002079 


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 correction of his records to show award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Berlin and the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action in Vietnam. 
As a new issue, he also requests award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Vietnam.

2.  The applicant states:

* he enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years in order to receive airborne training
* after jump school he was sent to Fort Jackson, SC, to become an instructor on the techniques of the firing range where he did well and received several letters of commendation
* in early 1960, he again requested overseas duty and was sent to the 24th Infantry Division in Germany in February 1960
* shortly after his arrival, he was sent on temporary duty to Vietnam to help the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) since he had training experience in firing techniques and airborne training
* he was detailed to the Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam in Quang Tri Province in the I Corps area of operations
* in May 1960 while in the field with the ARVN, a nearby ARVN Soldier tripped a land mine planted by the Viet Cong and he received some cuts, bruises, and a possible concussion
* there was no U.S. medical attention there so he was kept at least 1 night in an ARVN field hospital and returned to action
* shortly thereafter, he developed a bad case of tonsillitis and was hospitalized again for several days – upon recovery he was sent back to Germany
* in July 1960, he was approached by the personnel section due to his good clerical scores and offered a positon in the payroll section
* he accepted the position and was transferred to Headquarters Company where he remained for the rest of his Army career, performing well and receiving several letters of appreciation and proficiency pay
* on 13 August 1961, the East Germans put up the Berlin Wall and President Kennedy responded by calling up the Reserve Components, extending the enlistment of those like himself who were due to be discharged, and sending a unit to Berlin as a "show of force"
* the 24th Infantry Division was one of those units –the division rotated its battle groups into Berlin on a 30 to 45-day basis starting in September 1961
* while not in Berlin, the rest of the division remained in direct support which mostly consisted of time in the field
* gradually the crisis subsided and he was discharged 4 months after his expiration term of service
* in about 1982, he asked the Army what medals he was entitled to for his military service and he was issued various Vietnam service medals on 20 September 1982
* in 1987 while working for the Bureau of the Census, he was sent to Saudi Arabia as a civilian advisor to train the Saudis in statistical matters and remained there for the entire Gulf War, experiencing numerous missile attacks for which he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation
* this motivated him to request the awards after he retired from the Federal Government and reviewed his situation, determining he was entitled to several other medals for his service
* on 18 June 1997, he applied to the Board requesting award of the Purple Heart and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal anticipating little difficulty
* he had a witness statement from Mr. R____ B____ for award of the Purple Heart and felt it was obvious that the 24th Infantry Division was in Berlin
* to his amazement, not only were his requests denied, but his medals for his Vietnam service were also cancelled
* when he reviewed his service records from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, he realized the difficulty was that there are no orders in his files for any of his changes of station or temporary duty for the period from 5 January 1959 to 18 August 1960
* there is a notation on his DA Form 24 (Service Record) – "Because of the unserviceable condition of the original service record all entries currently required have been transcribed into the new service record from the original and have been verified"
* since there are no records of his movements for the first 18 months, and because that form only lists permanent changes of station, he is left without any official record of his service in Vietnam or maneuvers like entering Berlin during the Berlin Crisis of 1961
* he was more recently able to obtain a more detailed witness statement from Mr. R____ B____ and has used the Internet to contact other personnel who were with him in Vietnam and Germany to provide witness statements
* he has served his country in two wars and a major crisis and has been hospitalized several times in the course of his duties
* he would like his official records to include the awards to which he is entitled

3.  The applicant defers to counsel for all further arguments and evidence.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests reconsideration of the applicant's prior request for correction of his records to show award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Berlin and the Purple Heart for wounds he sustained in action in Vietnam.  As a new issue he also requests award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal to the applicant for his service in Vietnam.

2.  Counsel states:

* the applicant previously petitioned the Board for award of the Purple Heart and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Berlin, Germany, during the Berlin Crisis of 1961
* in December 2014, counsel discovered during a review of the applicant's records that he is also entitled to award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Vietnam which he never previously requested
* counsel finds it in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to file within 3 years of discovery
* the injustice was not discovered until counsel did a full review of the applicant's records and past submissions
* all necessary documents have been provided
* there is no prejudice to the government by the request
* the harm to the applicant is great, given that he earned the awards in combat
* the request is for awards earned in service – there is no request for monetary awards or disability
* the issues presented are simple and do not require substantial amounts of time to review, understand, and grant relief
* the documentary evidence demonstrates the applicant is entitled to the requested relief
* regarding the request for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the evidence is indisputable that the applicant served in Vietnam from 27 February 1960 through 7 June 1960
* a screenshot of a promotion record is included as one form of evidence demonstrating the applicant's service
* a statement regarding the applicant's service record indicated his original military records were unserviceable
* the result is that his military orders between 1959 and 1960 were deemed unserviceable without explanation
* witness statements are offered in place of those unserviceable records
* additionally, the applicant was previously awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation which proves his service in Vietnam
* Department of Defense (DOD) Manual Number 1348.33, Volume 2 (Manual of Military Decorations and Awards:  DOD Service Awards – Campaign, Expeditionary, and Service Medals), dated 23 November 2010, authorizes the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Vietnam service
* service members who earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Vietnam between 1 July 1958 and 4 July 1965 are authorized to elect to receive the Vietnam Service Medal instead
* the applicant has never been awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Vietnam, although the facts show he is clearly entitled to it
* by all accounts, the Military Assistance Advisory Group was in Vietnam in 1960
* the included unit roster of Military Assistance Advisory Group personnel as of January 1960, shortly before the applicant's arrival, corroborates that the witnesses who provided letters were in fact in Vietnam when they said they were
* as further evidence of his entitlement to award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Purple Heart, he has provided a statement from Mr. R____ B_____ attesting to the applicant's attachment to the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam and injury entitling him to award of the Purple Heart
* the statement from Mr. R____ B____, the applicant's own statement, his service records, and his medical records substantiating injuries provide sufficient justification for relief
* it should be noted that the Vietnamese government has awarded the applicant for his service
* the applicant has provided service records demonstrating he served in Vietnam and eyewitness accounts of his service and medical injuries entitling him to award of the Purple Heart
* the interests of justice plainly justify providing relief
* the applicant is only asking the Board to grant him the ability to properly wear the medals he has earned

3.  Counsel provides:

* DD Form 214
* pages 1 and 4 of DA Form 24, dated 18 January 1962
* National Archives and Records Administration (NA) Form 13152 (Reply to Request for Organizational Records (Non-Medical))
* illegible documents presumed to be January and July 1960 rosters of Soldiers assigned or attached to the Military Assistance Advisory Group
* DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 20 September 1982
* Headquarters, Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam memorandum, dated 31 March 1960
* partial letter from the Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam to the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, dated 30 August 1960
* Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 23 December 1958
* letter from a medical doctor, dated 1 May 2013
* 10 witness statements
* excerpts from Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Military Awards)

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 AC98-09344 on 30 September 1998.

2.  After a prior period of enlisted service in the U.S. Army Reserve, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 5 January 1959.

3.  His records contain a Standard Form 88, dated 23 December 1958, reporting the findings of his medical examination administered upon enlistment in the Regular Army.  In the notes, the following abnormalities were annotated:

* scar right wrist
* scar right forefinger
* scar left ankle
* vaccination scar upper left arm

4.  Contrary to counsel's contention, the applicant's complete 4-page DA Form 24 prepared on 18 August 1960 at Warner Kaserne, Munich, Germany, covering the period 5 January 1959 through 18 January 1962 is in his available military records for review.

5.  His DA Form 24 contains the following statement in Section 10 (Remarks):  "Because of the unserviceable condition of the original service record, all entries currently required have been transcribed into the new service record from the original and have been verified, 18 August 1960."

6.  His DA Form 24, Section 4 (Chronological Record of Military Service), consists of 16 entries showing all of his unit assignments from 5 January 1959 through 18 January 1962.  There are no entries that reference assignments in Vietnam or Berlin.  This section shows he was en route to U.S. Army Europe from 27 January 1960 to 18 February 1960 and subsequently assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Company C, 1st Brigade, 21st Infantry Division, both of which were located in Munich, Germany.

7.  His DA Form 24, Section 5 (Service outside Continental United States), lists his departure from New York on 8 February 1960 with arrival in Bremerhaven, Germany, on 17 February 1960 for duty in Germany.  His subsequent departure date from Germany to the continental United States is listed as 18 January 1962. 
No other foreign service is listed.

8.  His DA Form 24, Section 7 (Combat Record), is blank.  No battle or campaign participation, theater of operation, or through dates are listed.  Section 8 (Wounds Received through Enemy Action) is likewise blank.

9.  His records contain a Standard Form 88, dated 4 December 1961, reporting the findings of his medical examination administered upon his release from active duty.  In the notes, the following abnormalities were annotated:

* tonsillar hypertrophy (enlarged tonsils)
* 1 1/2-inch scar above right wrist
* 1/2-inch scar ventral aspect (underside/lower) wrist
* 1-inch scar right index finger

10.  On 18 January 1962, the applicant was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.  His DD Form 214 states he received no wounds in action.

11.  His military records are void of any documentation showing service in Vietnam or Berlin and no reference to wounds received as the result of hostile action or the treatment of those wounds.

12.  Counsel provided numerous witness statements attesting to the applicant's service in both Vietnam and Berlin.  All three of the statements pertaining to the Berlin Crisis of 1961 attest to the units of the 24th Infantry Division being on high alert and some of them being sent into Berlin as reinforcements in the event of hostilities.  None of them attest to having served with the applicant in Berlin.

13.  Six statements from five different witnesses were also provided regarding his service in Vietnam.  Mr. R____B____, a member of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam from November 1959 through November 1960, provided two statements.  He said he knew the applicant when he was attached to the Military Assistance Advisory Group in 1960 and he remembers when the applicant was wounded while on a training missing with an ARVN infantry unit when a land mine explosion injured him, requiring treatment in an ARVN field hospital.  Mr. P____ D____, a member of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam in May 1960, provided a statement claiming he was not an eye-witness to the event, but was aware of the fact that the applicant was injured in Vietnam.  Mr. L____ A____, also a member of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam from 1959 through 1960, verified that the applicant served in Vietnam at the time.  Mr. L____ E____, also a member of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam from 1959 through 1960, stated the applicant was on temporary duty with them in Saigon for several weeks when he then went to Quang Tri Province and was injured.  His sister, Ms. S____ C____, wrote a letter recalling that the applicant wrote home from Vietnam to tell their mother he had been injured and hospitalized when a land mine exploded near him.

14.  Counsel provided a letter from a medical doctor, dated 1 May 2013, who examined the applicant on 2 January 2013 for a physical examination.  Upon examination of his extremities during that visit, scars were noted on his right forearm which were well-healed and consistent with a history of prior trauma he received from a land mine explosion in Vietnam.

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit awards.

	a.  The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

	b.  The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is awarded for qualifying service after 1 July 1958 in military operations within a specific geographic area during a specified time period.  It states individuals qualified for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Vietnam from 1 July 1958 and 3 July 1965 (inclusive) shall remain qualified for that medal.  Upon request, the Vietnam Service Medal may be awarded in lieu of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, but the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal must be removed from the records of the individual.  No person will be entitled to both awards for Vietnam service.  Table 2-3 (Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal) lists service in Berlin from 14 August 1961 through 1 June 1963 as an authorized qualifying area for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for reconsideration of his earlier request for correction of his records to show award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Berlin and the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action in Vietnam, as well as a new request for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Vietnam, were carefully considered.

2.  Although he provided witness statements attesting to his service in Vietnam and assignment to the 24th Infantry Division during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, there is no evidence in the applicant's military records corroborating that he performed qualifying service with units in Vietnam or Berlin which would authorize him award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

3.  His records are also void of any reference to wounds he sustained as the result of hostile action which required treatment by medical personnel.  The annotations on his medical examination of 4 December 1961 in connection with his release from active duty do not differ greatly from the annotations on his medical examination of 23 December 1958 in preparation for his entry into active service, aside from the reference to tonsillitis on the 1961 form and slight deviations in the listing of his visible scars to his wrist and finger which are present on both forms.  There is insufficient evidence to link the scars listed on his 1961 report of medical examination to wounds received in Vietnam as the result of hostile action.

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 AC98-09344, dated 30 September 1998, or to grant relief with regard to the new request.



      ___________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)                                         AR20150002079



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150002079



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