BOARD DATE: 26 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006662 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 February 1981, as follows: a. Delete the Vietnam Service Medal. b. Add the following awards and decorations: * Vietnam Service Medal with one silver service star * Meritorious Unit Commendation * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar * Driver and Mechanic Badge with Wheeled Vehicle Component Bar * Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class unit citation * two overseas service bars 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to adding a second Meritorious Unit Commendation to the DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 February 1981. 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: Trettenero, Francis L. (Deceased) DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006662 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF ::x :x :x GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 26 April 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006662 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 of the FSM's DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show a Meritorious Unit Commendation (2nd Award), the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, and one overseas service bar. 2. The applicant states the above-cited unit citations were awarded after the FSM left the units to which he was assigned while in Vietnam. The overseas service bar was for more than 6 months of service in Vietnam. While in Vietnam, the FSM was assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion from May 1968 to July 1968 and to the 362nd Engineer Company from July 1968 to January 1969. 3. The applicant provides: * extract from Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM) 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) * FSM's death certificate (with the applicant listed as spouse) * FSM's DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II) * FSM's DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 February 1981 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The FSM enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 25 January 1960. He was honorably released from active duty on 16 February 1963. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows he completed 2 years, 11 months, and 28 days of net active service. He was awarded or authorized: * Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar * Driver and Mechanic Badge with Wheeled Vehicle Component Bar 2. After a short break in service, the FSM reenlisted in the RA on 26 August 1963 and served continuously through reenlistments and extensions. He held military occupational specialties 62H (Construction Equipment Supervisor (Instructor) and 51P (Utilities Engineering Supervisor). 3. The following relevant documents were in the FSM's available service record: * letter of commendation, dated 6 April 1968, issued by the acting commander, 557th Engineer Company * letter of appreciation, dated 5 May 1968, issued by the outgoing commander, 168th Engineer Combat Battalion, addressed to the battalion, the 557th Engineer Company, and included comments lauding the 27th Land Clearing Team * General Order (GO) Number 49, dated 13 November 1968, issued by Headquarters, 79th Engineer Group, awarded the Purple Heart for wounds incurred on 16 September 1968; FSM was assigned to the 362nd Engineer Company, 79th Engineer Group * GO Number 112, dated 10 February 1969, issued by Headquarters, 20th Engineer Brigade, awarded the Bronze Star Medal for the period January 1968 to January 1969; the FSM was assigned to the 362nd Engineer Company, 588th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade * DD Form 398 (Statement of Personal History), item 13 (Employment), shows, in Vietnam, the FSM served in the following units: 557th Engineer Company – January to April 1968; 27th Engineer Battalion – April to July 1968; 362nd Engineer Company – July 1968 to January 1969 * DA Form 2-1 showing he served in Vietnam from 19 January 1968 to 14 January 1969; under item 35 (Record of Assignments), the first entry is dated 1 February 1974 * the FSM's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) is not available for review; this form predated the DA Form 2-1 and would have shown units and periods of assignment as well as individual awards and decorations * his available service record was void of other documents that would have been generated during his service in Vietnam (i.e. orders and/or reports) 4. The FSM was honorably retired on 28 February 1981. His DD Form 214 shows he completed 3 years, 4 months, and 3 days of net active service for this report, and 17 years and 2 months of prior active service. He was awarded or authorized the following: * Purple Heart * Bronze Star Medal * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2nd Award) * Basic Missileman Badge * Vietnam Service Medal * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm * National Defense Service Medal * Army Good Conduct Medal (5th Award) 5. The applicant provides two pages from DA PAM 672-3, which show the following: * award of Meritorious Unit Commendations and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation to the 27th Engineer Battalion * award of the Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation to the 362nd Engineer Company REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes policies and procedures for military awards and decorations. a. For each succeeding act or period of meritorious service or achievement that justifies the award of a decoration, an oak leaf cluster will be awarded. b. The Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation is an authorized foreign decoration; it can be accompanied by oak leaf clusters. c. One bronze service star will be added to the Vietnam Service Medal for each recognized campaign in which the Soldier participated. A silver service star is worn instead of five bronze service stars. Recognized Vietnam campaigns included: * Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase III (1 June 1967 to 29 January 1968) * Tet Counteroffensive (30 January 1968 to 1 April 1968) * Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase IV (2 April 1968 to 30 June 1968) * Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase V (1 July 1968 to 1 November 1968) * Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VI (2 November 1968 to 22 February 1969) 2. DA Pam 672-3 shows unit awards and campaign credits for the Vietnam War. a. Department of the Army General Order (DAGO) Number 51, dated 1971, awarded the 27th Engineer Battalion the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 1 July 1968 to 28 February 1969. b. DAGO Number 2, dated 1971, awarded the 362nd Engineer Company the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 1 July 1968 to 31 October 1969. (The DAGO shows the award was given to the 588th Engineer Battalion, and the 362nd Engineer Company is listed as an attached unit.) c. DAGO Number 43, dated 1970, awarded the 20th Engineer Brigade (along with assigned and attached units) the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation for the period 3 August 1967 to 9 February 1970. The cited units under the 20th Engineer Brigade included: * 168th Engineer Battalion * 362nd Engineer Company * 557th Engineer Company * 588th Engineer Battalion 3. A declassified memorandum, dated 9 January 1968, subject: Operational Report – Lessons Learned, Headquarters, 168th Engineer Combat Battalion, Period Ending 31 July 1967, noted the 27th Engineer Land Clearing Team was attached to the 168th Engineer Combat Battalion on 23 May 1967. The document includes a “wiring diagram” reflecting the team was under the command and control of the battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Company. 4. AR 670-1 (Uniforms and Insignia) governs the requirements for the overseas service bar. It states a bar is authorized for wear for each period of active Federal service as a member of the U.S. Army outside of the continental limits of the United States for the specific time frames and areas of operation cited in Army Regulation 670-1 or appropriate Department of the Army (DA) message. a. There are special provisions regarding authorization for the overseas service bar for service in a hostile fire zone and for combining service to calculate award of the bars. b. For the Vietnam era, one overseas service bar was authorized for each period of 6 months active Federal service as a member of a U.S. Service in Vietnam from 1 July 1958 to 28 March 1973. Both the month of arrival and the month of departure from Vietnam were counted as whole months for credit toward the overseas service bar. 5. Army Regulation 670-5 (Uniform Insignia - Male Personnel), in effect at the time, stated overseas service bars may be worn on the Army Green uniform by Soldiers who served in Vietnam. Overseas service bars are considered part of the Army uniform and not an award; as such the regulation did not specifically require overseas service bars to be noted on the DD Form 214. Despite this, it was not uncommon for overseas service bars to be listed on DD Forms 214 during the Vietnam era. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant requests correction of the FSM's DD Form 214 to show two awards of the Meritorious Unit Commendation as well as the award of the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation. She claims the FSM was assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion from May to July 1968, and then to the 362nd Engineer Company from July 1968 to January 1969. a. The evidence of record appears to show the FSM served in Vietnam from 19 January 1968 to 14 January 1969. In addition, while a complete set of documents associated with his service in Vietnam is not available, the FSM's service record does include proof that appears to support his assignment to the following units, for the approximate periods noted: * 557th Engineer Company, 168th Engineer Battalion, from in or around January to in or around April 1968 * later in April 1968, he transferred to the 27th Engineer Land Clearing Team, which was an element attached to the 168th Engineer Battalion * in or around July 1968, he was reassigned to the 362nd Engineer Company, which, at that time, was under the command and control of the 79th Engineer Group * he remained in the 362nd Engineer Company until the end of his Vietnam tour; at some point between September 1968 and February 1969, however, his unit moved from the 79th Engineer Group to the 588th Engineer Battalion, which was under the 20th Engineer Brigade b. With regard to having two awards of the Meritorious Unit Commendation: (1) The 27th Engineer Battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 1 July 1968 to 28 February 1969, per DAGO 53, dated 1970. However, the 27th Engineer Land Clearing Team, the element to which the FSM was assigned, does not appear to have been part of the 27th Engineer Battalion in July 1968. Instead, it was under the command and control of the 168th Engineer Battalion, and thus would not have been eligible for unit awards given to the 27th Engineer Battalion. (2) DAGO Number 53, dated 1970, awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation to the 168th Engineer Battalion for the period 1 November 1968 to 30 June 1969. By the start of the recognized period, the FSM had already been reassigned to the 362nd Engineer Company. (3) DAGO Number 2, dated 1971, awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation to the 588th Engineer Battalion for the period 1 July 1968 to 31 October 1969. The DAGO indicates the 362nd Engineer Company was an attached unit for the recognized period. (4) DA PAM 672-3 does not show the 557th Engineer Company was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation at any point during its Vietnam service. (5) The available evidence appears to confirm the FSM is eligible for one, but not two Meritorious Unit Commendations. c. As to the award of the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, DAGO Number 43, dated 1970, authorized this award for the 20th Engineer Brigade, along with its assigned and attached units; the period was from 3 August 1967 to 9 February 1970. All units to which the FSM was assigned were listed as either assigned or attached to the 20th Engineer Brigade for the award's period. 2. The applicant also requests the addition of one overseas service bar to the FSM's DD Form 214. a. During the Vietnam era, one overseas service bar was authorized for each 6 month period served in Vietnam, and both the month of arrival and the month of departure were credited as whole months. Based on this, the FSM was eligible for two overseas service bars (January through June 1968, then July through December 1968). b. By regulation, however, overseas service bars are considered part of the Army uniform and not an award; as such, there was no specific requirement to list them on a DD Form 214. c. The lack of regulatory basis notwithstanding, it was a common practice during the Vietnam era to include overseas service bars on the DD Form 214. 3. A review of the FSM's DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 February 1981 reveals some authorized awards are missing. a. There were five recognized campaigns in which the FSM participated; none are reflected with his already-awarded Vietnam Service Medal. b. His DD Form 214 for the period ending 16 February 1963 showed the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar. There are no subsequent entries in his available service record indicating a lesser qualification. Additionally, this same DD Form 214 shows [PLD(CUHA(1]the Driver and Mechanic Badge with Wheeled Vehicle Component Bar. Neither of these are listed on his DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 February 1981. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// [PLD(CUHA(1]If he was still qualified at that level in 1981, I suppose we could add it. So…was he? ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006662 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006662 7 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2