IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 June 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150010526 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____X____ ___X_____ ____X____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 June 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150010526 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. ______________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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 June 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150010526 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 spouse of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction her spouse's DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show he was awarded the Purple Heart and was a prisoner of war (POW) in Laos. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that the FSM was awarded the Purple Heart and was a POW. She further contends he was in Laos when our Government stated we were not there. 3. The applicant provides copies of– * 1 August 2014 and 30 September 2014 letters from the Executive Director, Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) to a Member of Congress * 15 December 2014 U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) letter to a Member of Congress * FSM's DD Form 214 Member-4 copy * FSM's Certificate of Death * HRC memorandum, subject: Awards and Decorations for (FSM), undated CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The FSM retired as a major/O-4 effective 31 July 1986. 2. His DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record - Part II), last reviewed on 5 August 1980, shows he served in Vietnam from 29 March 1968 through 25 March 1969. Item 9 (Awards, Decorations and Campaigns) does not list the Purple Heart or the POW Medal among his awards. 3. His Officer Record Brief, prepared 13 January 1984, does not show the Purple Heart in Section VIII (Awards and Decorations). 4. DD Forms 214 for the periods of service 13 June 1966-11 March 1968, 12 March 1968-27 November 1969, and 28 November 1969-14 October 1979 do not list the Purple Heart or POW Medal. 5. Standard Forms (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination) and an SF 93 (Report of Medical History) dated 25 April 1986 show the FSM listed numerous medical issues, however, these records show no evidence of a wound that was the result of hostile action. 6. The DD Form 214 ending 31 July 1986 filed in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) lists the Purple Heart in item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized). The POW Medal is not listed. 7. The FSM died on 19 July 2013. 8. The applicant provides a "Member-4" copy of a DD Form 214 ending 31 July 1986 showing Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC) made the following changes after the FSM's records had been forwarded: * item 12g shows "MIA/POW (Laos) 1968 29 days” was inserted (the correct entry for item 12g is Sea Service) * item 13 shows "POW Medal//MSM//" has been inserted * Item 18 (Remarks) shows the Member-4 DD Form 214 was changed at FAMC when the FSM had returned within one month requesting a new DD Form 214 to reflect minor missing information 9. The "Service - 2"/copy of the DD Form 214 ending 31 July 1986 that is filed in his OMPF does not show the MIA/POW entry in item 12g or the additional awards in item 13. 10. The applicant also provides: a. A 1 August 2014 letter from the Executive Director, ANC, to a Member of Congress, regarding an appeal of the removal of the POW designation from the FSM's headstone at ANC. The Executive Director stated that at the request of a third party questioning the FSM's status of POW, as listed on his headstone, his staff conducted a thorough review of the records supporting the annotations on the headstone. The staff noted discrepancies on the FSM's DD Form 214 submitted at the time of his internment. Official records from the National Personnel Records Center confirmed the noted discrepancies and a full review was requested from HRC. That review revealed the POW Medal, Purple Heart, and several other awards were not substantiated by Army records. The primary next of kin was notified and requested to provide any additional documents they may have. b. A 30 September 2014 letter from the Executive Director, ANC to a Member of Congress, regarding a follow-up to the appeal of the removal of the POW designation from the FSM's headstone. The Executive Director indicated his staff would not order the new headstone for an additional 60 days and the ANC would cover the cost to replace the headstone. Additionally, it was reported that the "NAM-POWs," an organization of Vietnam POWs, was the third party that had requested a review of the FSM's awards. c. A 15 December 2014 HRC letter from the Chief, Awards and Decorations Branch, to a Member of Congress, which reported that their office could not verify the FSM's entitlement to the Purple Heart. He acknowledged that the Purple Heart is listed on the FSM's final DD Form 214; however, that document, which was issued years after his departure from Vietnam, could not be used as the sole basis for award verification. A thorough review was conducted of the FSM's OMPF, casualty listings for the Vietnam era, awards orders, and other source documents from the time period. No documentation could be located to corroborate the Purple Heart. d. An HRC memorandum, subject: Awards and Decorations for (FSM), in which the Chief, Awards and Decorations Branch, stated: (1) They determined the FSM was entitled to the following awards and decorations for his military service: Distinguished Flying Cross with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with Numeral 22, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with one Silver Service Star, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 2, Army Service Ribbon, Senior Army Aviation Badge, Expert Badge with Auto Rifle and Pistol Bars, Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), Meritorious Unit Commendation, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, and Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation. (2) HRC was unable to verify the FSM’s entitlement to the Purple Heart listed on his final DD Form 214, dated 31 July 1986, located in his OMPF. Reviews of all available resources to verify his entitlement to the Purple Heart, to include a review of the Vietnam Casualty Microfiche, proved negative. Additionally, HRC was unable to locate orders verifying three subsequent awards of the Air Medal (23rd through 25th awards) and his second award of the Army Good Conduct Medal. If the family had these orders, HRC requested that they submit them to that office for verification. (3) They were unable to verify the FSM's entitlement to the Meritorious Service Medal and POW Medal listed on the DD Form 214, dated 31 July 1986, submitted by the family to ANC. (4) Copies of the submitted DD Form 214 were not located in his records as indicated in block 18. (5) The annotations made after the DD Form 214 was finalized in Blocks 12g (Sea Service) and 18 (Remarks) are improper. Corrections to the DD Form 214 are made with a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214). Two issuances of DD Form 215 prior to creation of a new DD Form 214 are allowed. (6) lf the family had orders verifying his entitlement to the Meritorious Service Medal and documentation verifying his status as a POW, they requested they submit them to the HRC Awards and Decorations Branch for verification and amendment to his records by a DD Form 215. 9. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, failed to reveal Purple Heart orders pertaining to the FSM. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states: a. The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. b. The POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive after 5 April 1917. The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel and other personnel granted creditable U.S. military service who were taken prisoner and held captive: * while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States * while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force * while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party * by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict 2. Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents) states to prepare a DD Form 215 in response to a request for a Soldier or veteran to correct a previously issued Army DD Form 214. Requests should contain a copy of the DD Form 214 in question and source documents that substantiate the request to change the DD Form 214. Such source documents may include a final decision from the Army Board for Correction of Military Records directing the change. DISCUSSION: There is no substantiating evidence showing the FSM was wounded as a result of enemy action while in Vietnam or that he was a POW. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150010526 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150010526 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2