PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           4 February 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002072913

	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	
	Ms. Nancy L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Mr. Ronald J. Weaver		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 his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to show he attended an International Business Machine (IBM) course and to show he was in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant states that he completed an IBM course at Tripler Army Medical Center.  He was on temporary duty to the 121st Aviation Company in Vietnam about June, July, and August 1965.  He thought the entry “USARPAC” covered his service in Vietnam.  He provides a Certificate of Training; several photographs, including one he took of the sign at the entrance of the Soc Trang Army International Aerial Port; a 16 October 2002 statement from an individual whom the applicant told about his time in Vietnam; and copies of several of his military pay vouchers as supporting evidence.  The pay vouchers are all signed except for those for August and September 1965.  He believes it is more than just coincidence that there is no signature on the pay vouchers for the months he was in Vietnam.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 23 October 1962.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 64A (Light Vehicle Driver).

5.  The applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, Hawaii, on or about 17 September 1963.  

6.  The Certificate of Training provided by the applicant shows he completed       1 and 1/2 weeks of Basic IBM training at Tripler Army Medical Center on            22 March 1965.

7.  There is no evidence of record to show the applicant was assigned to Vietnam.  A 20 July 1965 entry in his medical records shows he was treated at the U. S. Army Dispensary at Army Post Office San Francisco 96557.  That post office was located in Hawaii in July 1965.  

8.  A check of morning reports for the 121st Aviation Company for the months of June and August 1965 failed to reveal the applicant was attached or otherwise with that unit for those months.  Several attempts to obtain morning reports for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, for the pertinent periods were unsuccessful.  

9.  A 16 October 2002 letter from the applicant’s Representative in Congress states that the applicant is in the background just in front of the sign in a (different) picture taken of the entrance sign of the Soc Trang Army International Aerial Port.

10.  The applicant departed Hawaii on or about 7 October 1965.

11.  The applicant was released from active duty on 11 October 1965.  Item    24c (Foreign and/or Sea Service) of his DD Form 214 shows he was assigned to the U. S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) for 2 years and 25 days.  Item 28 (Service Schools or Colleges, College Training Courses, and/or Post-Graduate Courses Successfully Completed) shows he completed no such schools or courses.  Item 29 (Other Service Training Courses Successfully Completed) shows he completed no other training courses.

12.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations, Administrative Separation Procedures and Forms) (the version in effect at the time) stated that service schools and military-sponsored courses completed in civilian schools and colleges successfully completed would be entered in item 28 of the DD Form 214.  Installation training courses, military correspondence courses, and off-duty courses successfully completed would be entered in item 29.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record to show the applicant served in Vietnam. 

2.  The Board has considered the photograph the applicant provided showing the unit sign in Vietnam; however, there is no way to verify that the applicant is in fact in that photograph.  

3.  The Board notes the applicant’s contention that he most likely did not sign some of his military pay vouchers because he was in Vietnam; however, there is no verification that that was the reason they are not signed.  

4.  The provided 16 October 2002 statement is not from an individual who personally knew the applicant to be in Vietnam.

5.  The provided evidence is insufficient to show the applicant served in Vietnam.

6.  The Board accepts the Certificate of Training to show the applicant completed a basic IBM course in 1965.  Item 29 of his DD Form 214 should be amended accordingly.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That item 29 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 be amended to add the Basic International Business Machine course.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__MHM__  __CLG  _  __RJW__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_   _Melvin H. Meyer_  __
		      CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002072913	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/02/04	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.07	
2.	100.00	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.