PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           22 March 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000050232

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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 that he be awarded additional awards of the Air Medal.

3.  The applicant states that he was awarded the basic Air Medal but no Air Medals for the additional combat missions he flew.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 28 July 1967.  He was honorably discharged on 6 April 1969 for the purpose of accepting an appointment as a warrant officer aviator on 7 April 1969.  He was assigned to Troop D, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division on 8 May 1969 as a helicopter pilot.

5.  The applicant was awarded the basic Air Medal on General Orders          7764, Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division dated 12 June 1969 for the period     12 through 21 May 1969.  He had flown 28.1 hours in this period (4.3 hours on 21 May 1969, so on 20 May 1969 he had flown only 23.8 hours).

6.  The applicant’s Individual Flight Record and Flight Certificate – Army, DA Form 759-1, for the period 22 May 1969 through 25 April 1970 show that he flew
a total of 680.4 additional hours on combat missions piloting a utility (UH-1H) or an attack (AH-1G) helicopter.  

7.  The applicant departed Vietnam on 1 May 1970.  He had also been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-2 provides for the award of the Air Medal to any person who will have distinguished himself while participating in aerial flight.  It is primarily intended to recognize those personnel who are on current crewmember or noncrewmember flying status which requires them to participate in aerial flight on a regular and frequent basis in the performance of their primary duties. Involvement in such activities serves only to establish eligibility for award of the Air Medal; the degree of heroism, meritorious achievement or exemplary service determines who should receive the award.  Numerals, starting with 2, will be used to denote second and subsequent awards of the Air Medal.  

9.  At the time, U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 provided that individuals who had been recommended for award of the Air Medal for sustained operations must have had completed a minimum of 25 Category I missions and had accrued a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in Category I missions; 50 Category II missions and had accrued a minimum of 50 hours of flight time while engaged in Category II missions; or 100 Category II missions and had accrued a minimum of 100 hours of flight time while engaged in Category III missions.

10.  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.

11.  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 time and adjust it to a common denominator.

12.  Department of the Army Pamphlet shows that the 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm for the period   1 May through 28 June 1970.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant flew an additional 680.4 hours on combat missions after the ending date, 21 May 1969, of the award of his basic Air Medal.  The Category type of those missions cannot be determined. However, given the type of unit to which he was assigned (a ground combat unit, not an aviation unit), the type of helicopters he flew, and the fact he was awarded the basic Air Medal after performing only the minimum amount of flight hours, 25, the Board concludes that any doubt concerning the category of missions he flew should be resolved in favor of the applicant and it should be presumed he flew all Category I missions.  The Board further presumes the applicant flew multiple Category I missions during the days he flew for extended periods of time and so met the requirement for completing a minimum of 25 Category I missions and accruing a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in those missions. 

2.  The Board therefore concludes that it would be appropriate to show that, with his total of 680.4 additional flight hours divided by 25, the applicant was awarded the Air Medal numeral 2 through 27 for the period 22 May 1969 through 25 April 1970.

3.  The applicant was also assigned to a unit during a period of time that unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, making the applicant eligible to wear that award.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the applicant the Air Medal numeral 2 through 27 for the period 22 May 1969 through 25 April 1970.

2.  That the applicant’s Report of Transfer or Discharge, DD Form 214, for the period ending 22 January 1971 be amended to delete the Air Medal and add the Air Medal 27th award and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm.

BOARD VOTE:  

__slp___  __jpi___  __rks___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Shirley L. Powell
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000050232	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010322	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0018	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.