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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORD

S

2 NAVY ANNE

X

WASHINGTON DC 20370-510

0 TRG

Docket No:
24 August 2001

3636-00

Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
Secretary of the Navy

RECORD OF

(a) Title 10 U.S.C. 1552

(1) Case Summary
(2) Subject's naval record

Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a

1.
former enlisted member of the United States Marine Corps
filed an application with this Board requesting that his record
be corrected to show a better characterization of service than
the bad conduct discharge issued on 20 June 1973.

The Board, consisting of Mr. Shy, Mr. Pfeiffer and Mr.

2.
Zsalman, reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice
on 21 August 2001 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined
that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the
available evidence of record.
the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and
applicable statutes, regulations and policies.
3.
to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice, finds as
follows:

The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining

Documentary material considered by

a.

Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all

administrative remedies available under existing law and
regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b.

Although it appears that Petitioner's application was

not filed in  a timely manner, it is in the interest of justice to
waive the statute of limitations and review the application on
its merits.

Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps on 7 September

zt age 18.

On 27 April 1966 he received nonjudicial

,1965 
punishment for an unauthorized absence of about 20 hours. He
then served in Vietnam from 21 July 1966 to 15 August 1967.
During this period he participated in 10   combat  operations and
were wounded in action.
December 1967 for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.

He was honorably discharged on 15

1967 for six years.

Petitioner reenlisted in the Marine Corps on 16 December
He then served in Vietnam from 8 January to

d.

During this period he participated in six

13 December 1969.
combat operations and was awarded the combat action ribbon. He
also received nonjudicial punishment for impersonating a staff
noncommissioned officer.
by a special court-martial of an unauthorized absence of about
The court sentenced him to 60 days restriction, 60
126 days.
days hard labor without confinement,
rank to private.
hardship discharge was denied.

On 27 October 1970 Petitioner's request for a

On 29 September 1970 he was convicted

and a suspended reduction in

e.

Petitioner then served without incident until 6 August

On that date he began a period of unauthorized absence

1972.
which lasted until he was apprehended on 16 January 1973, a
period of about 163 days.
March 1973 and convicted him of the 163 day period of
unauthorized absence.
The court sentenced him to reduction to
pay grade E-l, forfeiture of $200 pay per month for four months
and a bad conduct discharge.
with a passive aggressive personality disorder.
he elected to waive his right to request restoration to duty.
The bad conduct discharge was issued on 7 June 1973.

On 10 May 1973 he was diagnosed

A special court-martial convened on 29

Six days later,

f.

In support of his request for a better discharge,

Petitioner has submitted several letters from Marines who served
with him in Vietnam.
commanding officer of the First Battalion, Fifth Marines who
states, in part, as follows:

One of those letters is from the former

Throughout

. 

. (Petitioner) was also a member of the Forward

. 
command Post element, in the S-3 section, which placed
him at most times in my immediate vicinity.
this period the Battalion, including the Forward
Command Post element was all but continuously outside
involved in operations
our Combat Support Base . . . .
against units of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese
Army.
During the time in which (Petitioner) served under me
he did an exemplary job as Operations Watch Stander.
This involved maintaining an awareness of the entire
plotting such activities
current battalion operations;
as night patrols; Harassing and Interdiction artillery
missions, and planned air strikes; as well as staying
in contact with various units by voice radio, and
writing reports.
duty.

He also stood perimeter security

Subsequent to my retirement from the Marine Corps I
obtained my Ph.D. in Psychology, was licensed, and
worked for a number of years in various teaching and

2

During this phase of my

psychotherapeutic positions.
career I had the opportunity to treat a number of
veterans for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I
It can
am aware that this malady takes many forms.
cause a person to react to life events in ways which
are not compatible with accepted norms of behavior. I
also believe that  
and especially one who has been wounded -- as
(Petitioner) was
residue of PTSD to cause him, given sufficient
contemporary stress, to behave in ways not dissimilar
to the way (Petitioner) did under his particular set of
psycho-social stressors.

any person who has served in combat,

- probably carries with him sufficient

I have become reacquainted with (Petitioner) over the
past two years and am aware of how he conducts himself
both privately and publicly.
I believe that he is a
good man, dedicated to his family and to his former
comrades-in-arms.
He has spent considerable personal
time and money to location and organize those persons
formerly in H&S  
He is
also under treatment for PTSD.

l/5 in a veterans' community.

I believe that he is a credit to his present, civilian
community and that there were mitigating circumstances
for his action when he went on Unauthorized absence in
(an) attempt to bring some coherence to his family
life. . . . .

I believe that in spite of apparent injustices and
sinking into passive aggressive and other self
destructive behavior (Petitioner) should be granted
relief and that his discharge should be reviewed and
As a veteran of
upgraded to an honorable discharge.
two tours in Vietnam he should be able to receive the
benefits which have legally accrued to other veterans
who fought honorably for their country and who gave
less than he. . . . . .

The former executive officer of First Battalion, Fifth Marines
also supports recharacterization of Petitioner's discharge. He
states that the battalion was almost continuously in a combat
situation.
Corps and society in the  
adjustment of combat veterans.

He also points out that the atmosphere in the Marine

1970's was not conducive to the

g-

The former operations officer of First Battalion, Fifth

Marines states, in part, as follows:

I was a major at the time (April-November 1969)

3

and Operations Officer, S-3 . . . . . . (Petitioner) worked
directly for me.
more than a few feet away from me. The entire time I
was with the battalion (except for a brief 4 to 5 week
period) we were  
"in contact,"
conducting "search and destroy" operations.  

I saw him every day.

"in the bush" or  

He was rarely

.
. . . 

Since I was never more than a few feet away
from (Petitioner), let me describe a typical day. He
was at work before sunrise, usually moving.
He was
always hot, filthy, and tired before sunrise, and may
or may not have had time to eat or shave.
with the battalion he was under constant threat of
booby traps and snipers, insects, and leeches. He
carried a 30 to 40 pound pack everywhere he went. He
wore only a pair of boots, trousers, flak jacket,
helmet, and M-16, with an olive drab towel draped
around his neck to constantly mop off the sweat.
there was contact with the enemy he had to view the
death of his fellow Marines.
known them, but it was not a "pretty death" like one
sees in the movies. . . .

He may or may not have

As he moved

When

The operations officer concludes, in effect, that he has been
adequately punished and that an "amnesty" is now warranted in
this case.

h.

In support of his request,

Petitioner has submitted a

psychiatric evaluation.
The psychiatrist diagnosed him with
chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with delayed onset and
concluded that he had substantial impairment.

i.

The Board has received an advisory opinion on the post

traumatic stress disorder issue from a Navy psychiatrist who
concludes as follows:

. 

. 

. 

. In reviewing the file I am struck by the
poignancy of his supporting letters, and I am again
remained of the hardships these vets faced, both in
Viet 
are really no significant records to indicate a
significant history of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
following his release from active duty, which would go
against this diagnosis.

It is also unusual in that there

Nam and at home.

Looking back over the record as a whole, and in

light of our current understanding of PTSD, I think
there is good reason to suspect that the petitioner was
suffering from at least some aspects of PTSD during the
time of his final enlistment.

I think that this likely

4

did contribute in a significant way to the misconduct
that lead to his discharge.

CONCLUSION:

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record the
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants favorable
The Board notes Petitioner's two tours in Vietnam, the
action.
statements concerning his combat service, his personal problems,
and the psychiatric evaluation and advisory opinion.
concludes that he has been adequately punished for his
unauthorized absence by having a bad conduct discharge for over
28 years and that recharacterization of the discharge to general
is now warranted as a matter of clemency.

The Board

RECOMMENDATION:

That Petitioner's naval record be corrected to show that

a.
on 20 June 1973 he was issued a general discharge by reason of
misconduct vice the bad conduct discharge now of record.

That this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner's

b.
naval record.

That the Department of Veterans Affairs be informed on

C .
request that his application was received by the Board on 23 May
2000.

It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's

4.
and that the foregoing is a true and
review and deliberations,
complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled
matter.

ROBERT D. ZSALMAN
Recorder

&MA

ALAN E. GOLDSMIT
Acting Recorder

Pursuant  to the delegation of authority set out in Section

5 .
6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of
Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6(e))
and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby
announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the
has been approved by the Board on
authority of reference (a),
behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.

F-W. DEAN

Executive Director

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