PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           2 October 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001061403

	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. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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, in effect, that his records be corrected to show he was promoted to E-5.

3.  The applicant states that he was recommended for promotion to E-5 before he left Vietnam.  His commander sent him a letter stating he had been recommended for E-5.  At the time he received the letter he had just returned home and was just glad to be alive.  Now that he can deal with the past, he feels he deserves the promotion.  He provides a letter from his commander dated     24 January 1969 as supporting evidence.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army on 16 November 1967.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).  He completed basic airborne training.  

5.  On or about 9 June 1968, the applicant arrived in Vietnam and was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry as an 11B1P, ammunition bearer.  He was wounded on 24 December 1968 and medically evacuated from Vietnam on 20 January 1969.  After his release from Madigan General Hospital, Tacoma, WA, he was assigned to Fort Carson, CO on 26 March 1969.  He was released from active duty on 22 August 1969 after completing 1 year, 9 months, and 7 days of creditable active service with no lost time.  His Report of Transfer or Discharge, DD Form 214, shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge, and the Purple Heart.  His Enlisted Qualification Record, DA Form 20, shows that his conduct and efficiency had been rated as excellent throughout his service.

6.  The 24 January 1969 letter provided by the applicant indicates that he “had already been recommended for E-5…”

7.  Army Regulation 600-200, chapter 7, in effect at the time, was the promotion and reduction authority.  It provided that an individual could be recommended for promotion by the unit commander only against authorized position vacancies existing or projected for a 2-month period within the command as announced by the promoting authority.  An individual who was next in line on the promotion merit list for promotion to fill the vacancy and for whom a promotion quota was received would be promoted.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge to a soldier who is an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, who is assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and must actively participate in such ground combat.  It provides for award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with device 1960 to members assigned to Vietnam for at least 6 months.  

9.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, provided policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  It stated that the Army Good Conduct Medal was awarded for each 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service completed on or after 27 August 1940 and, for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year.  At the time, a soldier’s conduct and efficiency ratings must have been rated as “excellent” for the entire period of qualifying service.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 shows that the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period 19 July 1968 – 14 May 1969 and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class Unit Citation for the period 18 March   1968 – 2 May 1970.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board accepts the letter provided by the applicant as sufficient evidence
to verify that he was recommended for promotion to E-5.  However, even after a promotion recommendation was made the actual promotion could not be made until a promotion vacancy existed or was projected to exist and a promotion quota was issued.  That promotion would then be valid only for the command that made the recommendation.  There is no evidence to show that the applicant was promoted into such a vacancy and once he departed Vietnam the promotion recommendation was no longer valid.  

2.  The applicant met the eligibility criteria for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with device 1960.  In addition, he was assigned to a unit during a period of time that unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class Unit Citation and so is authorized these medals, also.

3.  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 Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 16 November 1967 – 22 August 1969 and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  That the applicant’s DD Form 214 be amended to add the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with device 1960, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class Unit Citation.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__mkp___  __kak___  __rtd___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Margaret K. Patterson
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001061403	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011002	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	131.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.