ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 April 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170006322 APPLICANT REQUESTS: in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) in item 30 (Remarks) to add his Vietnam service. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) * DD Form 214 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states, in effect: a. His DA Form 20 shows that he had 19 months of foreign service; however, he had 16 months of service in Okinawa and 3 months in Vietnam. b. His DD Form 214, item 24c (Foreign and/or Sea Service) shows 19 months, but only 1 year and 4 months were in Okinawa and 3 months were in Vietnam. c. In order to receive benefits, his DD Form 214 has to state that he served in Vietnam. The Department of Veteran Affairs will not accept that his foreign service time includes Vietnam. d. When he ordered his military records, it showed his foreign service as 1 year and 7 months, but it does not list where his service was located. He wants his DD Form 214 to show he served in Vietnam; he was stationed in Okinawa but he also served in Vietnam. His unit Headquarters was in Bien Hoa Air Base, near Saigon with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which was located in Okinawa. He was a medic with Company B, a. Medical, 173rd Special Battalion. He discovered the error in March 2017, after receiving his service record from the National Personnel Records Center. 3. Item 24c of his DD Form 214 shows he had 1 year and 7 months of foreign and/or sea service. It does reflect that he served in Vietnam. 4. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) contains the following information: a. Item 31 (Foreign Service) – he was assigned to Okinawa from 9 November 1963 to 19 June 1965, for a period of 19 months. It does not contain any entries showing he served in Vietnam. b. Item 38 (Record of Assignment) - shows he was assigned to Company B (Medical), 173rd Special Battalion from 12 November 1963 to 2 August 1965; it does not show he served in Vietnam. 5. The applicant’s military records contain: * a DA Form 2139 (Military Pay Voucher) – showing he received hostile fire pay for the month of May 1965 * a DA Form 1307 (Individual Jump Record) – with the entry, Place of Jump: Vietnam, Date: 30 May 65, Pay Period Covered: May – July * no orders showing he was stationed in Vietnam for a period of 3 months * no indication of when he arrived in or departed from Vietnam 6. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), states to enter, in item 24c , the total amount of active duty served outside the continental limits of the United States during the period covered by the DD Form 214 and the last overseas theater in which the service was performed, (e.g., Foreign and/or Sea Service (USARPAC) (United States Army Pacific.) 7. On 20 May 1966, he was honorably released from active duty. Item 24c does not include an entry showing the last overseas theater in which he performed foreign service. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board determined that relief was not warranted. Based upon the documentary evidence supported by the applicant and found within the military service record, the Board found that the information currently depicted on the applicant’s DD Form 214 accurately reflects all information relevant to the applicant’s military service. The Board concluded there was no error or injustice which would warrant recommending a change to the record. Therefore, the Board recommended denying the applicant’s request for relief. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : 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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 5/7/2019 X CHAIRPERSON Signed by: 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), dated 23 January 1967, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. a. This regulation identified the DD Form 214 as a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty, providing a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge. b. Item 24c would contain the total amount of active duty served outside the continental limits of the United States during the period covered by the DD Form 214 and the last overseas theater in which the service was performed, (e.g., Foreign and/or Sea Service (USARPAC) (United States Army Pacific.)