IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 3 September 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150000407 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant, the brother of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests reconsideration of his previous request for correction of the home of record (HOR) listed in his brother's records so that he can be listed in the Vietnam Registry as a resident of Maine. 2. The applicant states: a. he's filing this petition on behalf of his siblings and other family members. b. the FSM was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and was killed in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 19 November 1967. c. he would like the FSM's DA Form 52-2 (Report of Casualty) corrected by changing the entry stating "Home of Record Middletown, Rhode Island" to read "Home of Record Brunswick, Maine." d. there has been no injustice or error done by the U.S. Army. However, he and family members are seeking a rather insignificant change in order to bring final closure concerning the tragic loss of the FSM and the long suffering of his parents. Prior to their passing, his parents asked that he try to set the record straight. e. the FSM was born in Topsham, Maine. At the time of his enlistment, the FSM was living at the family residence at 3 U---- Street, just across the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine. The FSM along with his other siblings had lived there for close to 15 years. The FSM attended Brunswick High School and he traveled down to Middletown, RI to visit a school friend, whose dad had been stationed at the Brunswick Naval Air Station prior to being reassigned to the Navy War College in Newport, RI. During the FSM's visit, his mother called and informed him that his draft notice had just arrived in the mail. f. the FSM and his friend decided to enlist rather than be drafted. They both enlisted on 29 August 1966 at the Main Recruiting Station in the capital city of Providence, RI. During the in-processing the FSM was asked to list his HOR. g. the family can only assume that the FSM's youth, his apprehension about going into the military, his many thoughts of going to war, his leaving his family before returning to Brunswick for one last time, and his inexperience may have been reasons why he told the recruiter that he was staying in Middletown with a friend. As a result, the recruiter typed Middletown, RI in the block "Home of Record." The FSM was killed prior to Thanksgiving in the central highlands of South Vietnam while serving his country in 1967. h. it has been 47 years since an Army chaplain and casualty officer came up the walkway to their modest home in Brunswick to inform their parents of the tragic loss of the FSM in that faraway jungle. The family was in shock and devastated. Their mom was never the same fun-loving and nurturing woman they had known growing up. i. when the traveling Vietnam Wall came to Brunswick and the family went to view it, the FSM's name was listed as being from Rhode Island, not Maine. His parents had to endure the pain and suffering all over again. He told his mother that maybe a mistake had been made and he would go to the Mall in Washington, DC to see if the information at the permanent Vietnam Wall showed the FSM listed as being from Rhode Island rather than Maine. He was informed that the FSM was listed as a Rhode Island resident because of the HOR entry. j. the Governor of Maine issued a Certificate of Appreciation to those Maine veterans or their families who had served in Vietnam or who were missing in action. The FSM was not listed as being from Maine yet the local Disabled American Veterans Chapter 15 honored the FSM and another Brunswick veteran who was killed in Vietnam by naming the chapter after them. 3. The applicant provides: * DA Form 52-2 (Report of Casualty) * Birth certificate * Document from the Office of the Superintendent of Schools in Brunswick, Maine * Letters of support from family friend, sister, and younger brother * Letter from the Selective Service System located in Portland, Maine * Newspaper article announcing posthumous award of the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for the FSM * Photograph showing the FSM's family receiving the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device * Letter from the Department of the Army, Office of The Adjutant General announcing posthumous award of the Military Merit Medal for the FSM * Certificate of Appreciation from the citizens of Maine (sample copy) * Newspaper article honoring the FSM and another Soldier who were both killed during the Vietnam War CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20130017646 on 5 June 2014. 2. The applicant has provided new evidence (Record from the Office of Superintendent of Schools in Brunswick, Maine; letters of support from family friend, sister, and younger brother; letter from the Selective Service System located in Portland, Maine; Certificate of Appreciation from the Citizens of Maine) and new arguments that will be considered by the Board. 3. The FSM's birth certificate shows his birthplace as Topsham, Maine. The FSM enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 August 1966. A DD Form 4 (Enlistment Record - Armed Forces of the United States) shows a home address (HOR) in Middletown, Rhode Island. 4. The DA Form 52-2 shows the FSM was killed on 19 November 1967 in Vietnam as the result of wounds received in hostile ground action. This document indicates his HOR as Middletown, Rhode Island. 5. A DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty), dated 4 December 1967, shows his HOR as Middletown, Rhode Island. The DA Form 2204 (Survivor Assistance Report), dated 25 January 1968, shows he was to be interred at Topsham, Maine. 6. The applicant provided the following documents as new evidence: a. A document from the Office of the Superintendent of Schools in Brunswick, Maine, which indicates the FSM dropped out of Brunswick High School on 11 February 1963 in the 9th grade for work. b. A letter, dated 28 July 1966, from the Selective Service System, which shows the FSM's mailing address in Brunswick, Maine. c. A letter, dated 26 November 1968, from the Department of the Army, Office of The Adjutant General, which is addressed to the FSM's parents in Brunswick, Maine and informed them of the FSM's posthumous award of the Military Merit Medal. d. A Certificate of Appreciation (sample copy) from the citizens of Maine, which shows the Maine veterans of the Vietnam War were honored by the Governor of Maine and The Adjutant General of Maine for their honorable service during the Vietnam War. e. A letter (undated) from the FSM's younger brother who stated the FSM was killed in Vietnam on 19 November 1967. The FSM was a private first class and was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Although the applicant lived in Maine all his life, he went to see a friend who at the time was living in Middletown, Rhode Island. The FSM never had a valid address in Middletown, Rhode Island, but they (the FSM and friend) decided to join the Army in this location. His parents, who have passed away, always wanted to have the registry changed, but they didn't know how to do it. The FSM is buried in Topsham, Maine, but all the records are in Middletown, Rhode Island. He and his sister can verify that the FSM never held an address in Middletown, Rhode Island. f. A letter, dated 25 November 2014, from a family friend who stated that his brother and the FSM visited their family located in Middletown, Rhode Island. His father taught at the War College at the Newport Naval Base. His brother and the FSM joined the military in Newport, Rhode Island on 29 August 1966. They lived with the FSM's family in Brunswick, Maine while going to Brunswick High School. g. A letter (undated), from the FSM's youngest sister who attested that the FSM's correct address was in fact located in Brunswick, Maine rather than Newport, Rhode Island. The FSM was only visiting his friend, the son of a Newport family, when the two boys decided to enlist in the Army. 7. Army Regulation 601-210 (Personnel Procurement – Qualifications and Procedures for Processing Applicants for Enlistment and Reenlistment in the Regular Army) at the time provided instructions for completing the DD Form 4. It stated to enter complete bona fide permanent home or permanent residence in item 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant provided a letter, dated 28 July 1966, which shows the FSM's mailing address as Brunswick, Maine. 2. The evidence of record shows the FSM enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 August 1966. At that time, his HOR was recorded as Middletown, Rhode Island. 3. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records. The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created. In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed. The Army would have relied on HOR information provided by the FSM when he enlisted. The evidence available in this case is insufficient to indicate error on the part of the Army or the FSM. 4. Regrettably, in view of the foregoing there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____X____ ___X_____ ___X_____ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20130017646, dated 5 June 2014. _______ _ _X______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150000407 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150000407 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1