MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            1 March 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048235

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John H. Kern 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway 		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar 		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, that his records be corrected to reflect award of the POW (Prisoner of War) Medal.

APPLICANT STATES:  He was not aware that a POW Medal existed and submits a copy of an April 2000 letter from the Naval Operational Medicine Institute regarding his annual physical examination as “part  of the repatriated POW program” under the Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He entered active duty on 20 June 1967 and was assigned to Vietnam as a marine engineer (61C) in December 1967.

On 17 July 1968, according to casualty information contained in his file, the applicant was a crew member of a military vessel on a supply mission when the “craft inadvertently crossed the Cambodian border and [the] craft and personnel were taken into custody by Cambodian authorities.”

Subsequent letters from Army officials to the applicant’s family indicated that the applicant was “in good health, [was] reasonably well-cared for, and certainly [was] not being mistreated by the Cambodians.”  Family members were told that the “Australians [which represented the U.S. in Cambodia] are doing everything possible to assist [the applicant] and the other crewmen by providing plenty of extra food and comfort items within the very broad limits set by the Cambodian authorities.”  The correspondence indicated that the applicant was “not in a prison, but [was] being held at a Cambodian naval base near Phnom Penh.”  Each of the letters and all of the casualty reports specifically identified the applicant as a “detainee” and not a POW.

On 20 December 1968 the applicant was released by Cambodian authorities and returned to U.S. military control.  He was evacuated from Vietnam and on 
20 January 1969 the applicant was honorably discharged.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the POW Medal was established in 1985 and authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5 April 1917.  It specifically states that hostages of terrorists and persons detained by governments with which the United States is not engaged actively in armed conflict are not eligible for the medal.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The evidence confirms that while Cambodian officials during the Vietnam War may have detained the applicant, the United States was “not engaged actively in armed conflict” with the Cambodian government and as such he is not entitled to an award of the POW Medal.

2.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy that requirement.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jhk___  ___rtd___  ___clg___  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048235	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010301	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  75	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.