PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           22 February 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048777

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

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. W. W. Osborn, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Member	
	Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests reconsideration of his previous application to correct his military records by awarding him the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.  He relates that in February 1971 his helicopter received enemy fire and he injured his nose when it crashed.  This is interpreted as a request for the Purple Heart. 

3.  He relates that subsequent to the previous review he discovered that he had his flight records in his possession.  He submits his Individual Flight Records Folder in support of his case.

4.  The Memorandum of Consideration of the Board’s 22 August 2000 review of his case (AR2000035384) is incorporated herein by reference as if wholly set forth.

5.  The applicant’s submission is new evidence that requires Board consideration.

6.  The applicant’s Individual Flight Records Folder contains a request for orders placing him on flight status as a gunner and orders placing him on flight status effective 16 December 1970.  Original flight logs show that, between December 1970 and August 1971, as a member of the 92nd Assault Helicopter Company, First Aviation Brigade he participated in combat missions on 129 different days.  His combat flying totaled 766 flight hours.   His last flight was on 17 August 1971 and his Flight Record Folder was closed out on 23 August 1971.  No medical records are available .

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, provides in pertinent part, that an Aircraft Crew Member Badge (Now known as the Basic Aviation Badge) may be awarded by any commander of a unit with aircraft assigned to individuals in a flying status as crewmembers and to non-crewmembers who hold principal assignments as observers, medical aidmen, gunners, maintenance supervisors or technical inspectors.  Notwithstanding other criteria, an individual who has participated in at least 15 combat missions under probable exposure to enemy fire may be permanently authorized to wear the Aircraft Crew Member Badge.

8. The regulation also provides that the Air Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism, for meritorious achievement and for meritorious service (sustained operations).  Arabic numerals are now used instead of oak leaf clusters for the second and succeeding awards.  The numeral denotes the total number of Air Medals awarded.

9.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 provided guidelines for award of the Air Medal.  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) was the standard established for which sustained 
operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal.  Although the regulation states that these guidelines were only a guideline of performance worthy of recognition and did not create an entitlement, it was common practice for an individual to be awarded the Air Medal based solely on the number of missions and flight hours.  Since helicopter missions were frequently of less than an hour’s duration, flight hours was usually the limiting factor.  However this was not always the case because, lengthy, multi-hour, missions were also common.  A reasonable approximation of the correct number of Air Medals for an individual can often be arrived at by analyzing the average monthly rate at which the individual’s contemporaries accumulated them.  Two to three Air Medals per month was commonplace for assault helicopter crews. 

10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  Telephonic liaison with the Awards Branch, Total Army Personnel Command reveals that the First Aviation Brigade seemed to have been reasonably consistent history of awarding any given individual the first award of the Air Medal and very consistent record of introducing errors when making subsequent awards.  Interestingly enough, there are no available First Aviation Brigade general orders for awards for the entire period of the applicant’s Vietnam tour of duty.  His name does not appear on the list of Vietnam casualties.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant did not request award of the Air Medal, considering his extensive combat service as a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam, continued failure to recognize that contribution by an appropriate number of awards of the Air Medal is unjust.

2.  During an eight-month period, from mid-December to mid-August, the applicant accumulated 766 hours combat flight time.  On the basis of hours, this would have qualified him for 30 awards of the Air Medal and considering that there is no data available for comparison with his contemporaries that number is deemed to be appropriate. 

3.  The applicant served in flight status on orders and participated in more than 15 combat missions.  He is entitled to permanent authorization of the Basic Aviation Badge.

4.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below would rectify an injustice.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

a.  showing that the individual concerned was awarded permanent authorization of the Basic Aviation Badge and;

b.  showing that he was awarded the Air Medal with numeral “30” for Meritorious Achievement in sustained military operations against an armed enemy in Vietnam from 16 December 1970 through 17 August 1971.

2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048777	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010222	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	MODIFY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.