ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 16 October 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190009008 APPLICANT REQUESTS: award of the Air Medal. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record), dated 6 June 2019 * Self-authored statement, dated 6 June 2019 * Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam, Letter Orders Number 1368, dated 22 September 1966 * DA Form 67-5 (U.S. Army Officer Efficiency Report), dated 21 October 1966 * Headquarters, US Army Vietnam, Letter Orders Number 1738, dated 22 November 1966 * Self-authored Flight Log Diary Excerpts for the period 26 April 1966 through 28 November 1966 * DA Form 67-5, dated 16 January 1967 * DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Record of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 1 June 1968 * Headquarters, U.S. Army Support Command, Da Nang, Vietnam, General Orders Number 332, dated 22 October 1968 (Other Soldiers) * Air Medal Citation for the period October 1966 to January 1967 (Another Soldier) * DD Form 214 for the period ending 24 August 1967 * "Judge Advocates in Combat" article, undated, from the Office of the Judge Advocate General and Center for Military History, pages 14-15 * "Q____ Receives Army Air Medal, likely the first civilian to receive military honor" webpage, updated 19 January 2009 * letter, Colleton County Veterans Affairs Office, Walterboro, South Carolina, dated 5 March 2012 * W____ Biography, dated 11 July 2013 * DD Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), dated 29 March 2019 * letter, D____, dated 1 April 2019 * letter, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, dated 15 May 2019 * letter, D____, dated 26 August 2019 * Self-authored letter, dated 30 August 2019 * Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Decorations and Awards) excerpts 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 (ABCMR) 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: a. He earned the Air Medal in the Republic of Vietnam during the period 1966 to 1967, but he did not receive the medal. b. He realized the error when he was writing his autobiography and discovered that another Soldier, now deceased and whom he served with in Vietnam, had been retroactively awarded the Air Medal for the period October 1966 to January 1967. He and the deceased Soldier shared the same room, travelled, and worked together on a daily basis during the award period. c. He attempted to obtain his award of the Air Medal; however, in January 2018, his request was denied. He received Congressional assistance in obtaining the records of the deceased Soldier, which contained officer efficiency reports from Vietnam. The reports made note of the necessity to interview witnesses in forward areas under difficult and dangerous conditions. d. A DA Form 638 was submitted for his award of the Air Medal. Unfortunately, most of his superiors are deceased; however, two individuals were able to sign the form. After further consideration, the Army Awards Branch denied the request for his award of the Air Medal on 15 May 2019. e. He believes the Army Awards Branch used the wrong regulation and applied the wrong criteria. The criteria for his award of the Air Medal should be considered under the same regulation in effect at the time as was done for another Solder who served with him and who was awarded the Air Medal. The criteria for the regulation in effect at the time would have qualified him for the award. f. The criteria for the Air Medal has changed over time. Many Air Medals were awarded to non-aircrew personnel, including members of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. g. Prior to 1968, the Army used flight hours in three categories to award the Air Medal. These categories included 25 hours of combat assault flights, 50 hours of combat support flights, or 100 hours of non-combat support flights. He completed 100 hours of non-combat support service flights. h. The personal diary he kept and recorded his travel flights show he completed 56 documented flights. An examination of each flight distance and time show he flew over 100 hours during the missions. i. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service when he departed Vietnam. His officer efficiency reports show he was highly regarded by his superiors. 3. On 7 September 1964, the applicant was ordered to active duty from the U.S. Army Reserve. 4. He served in Vietnam from 7 March 1966 to 12 January 1967. He was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV). 5. He provided copies of: a. Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam Letter Orders Number 1368, dated 22 September 1968, and Letter Orders Number 1738, dated 22 November 1966, showing he, the deceased Soldier (awarded the Air Medal), and other Soldiers were authorized repeated travel in connection with Article 32 investigation and general court-martial cases for the periods 26 September 1966 through 24 November 1966 and from 24 November 1966 through 23 January 1967; b. his DA Forms 67-5, for the rating period 13 February 1966 through 14 October 1966, and for the rating period 15 October 1966 through 11 January 1967, showing exemplary personal qualities during each of the rating periods; c. flight excerpts from his self-authored diary showing his dates, departure, and arrival locations in Vietnam and Thailand in 1966; d. an excerpt from "Judge Advocates in Combat Army Lawyers in Military Operations from Vietnam to Haiti;" e. a webpage article, "Q___ receives Army Air Medal; likely the first civilian to receive military honor," updated 19 January 2009, that shows a civilian was awarded the Air Medal for his service during the Vietnam War; f. the biography of another Soldier, W__, who was awarded the Air Medal for his service in Vietnam; g. orders awarding another Soldier the Air Medal. h. a letter from D__, a Soldier who was assigned to the Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps, Vietnam, supporting his application for the Air Medal. i. reconstructed DA Form 638, dated 29 March 2019, for award of the Air Medal for the period 9 March 1966 to 12 January 1967, that shows: (1) the recommender and superior was listed as retired Captain L__; (2) An intermediate recommender was listed as Captain D___; and (3) the approval authorities were listed as deceased. 6. His DA Form 66 (Officer Qualification Record) shows in: a. item 9 (Military Occupational Specialties (MOS)) – 8103, Judge Advocate or Judge Advocate General, 7 September 1964; 1542 Infantry Unit Commander, 17 November 1964 b. item 18 (Record of Assignments) – during his Vietnam tour his duty MOS, duties performed, and unit as Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, 8103, Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam. c. item 21 (Awards and Decorations): * Parachute Badge * Vietnam Service Medal * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * National Defense Service Medal * Bronze Star Medal * Army Commendation Medal 6. On 1 June 1968, he was honorably released from active duty. His DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Record of Transfer or Discharge) shows in item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Ribbons, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) – he was awarded or authorized: * Parachute Badge * Vietnam Service Medal * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * National Defense Service Medal * Bronze Star Medal * Army Commendation Medal 7. On 15 May 2015, an official at the Awards Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) responded to his application for the Air Medal. An official stated: a. "[U]pon review of the submitted documentation, we have determined [applicant] does not meet the criteria for award of the Air Medal under current or past regulation." b. "Under US Army Vietnam policy in place at the time of [Applicant's] service, to be recommended for the Air Medal, the Service Member must have fulfilled the necessary flight times in specific categories (Category I, Category II, Category Ill) as recorded on the DA Form 759 (Individual Flight Record and Individual Flight Certificate-Army), DA Form 759-1 (Individual Flight Record), and USARV Form 131-R (Awards and Qualification Record-Air Medal). Furthermore, USARV Supplement 1 to Army Regulation 672-5-1 specifically states that personnel who use the aircraft primarily as a means of transportation during a combat operation are not authorized the Air Medal. This award is considered on an individual basis. Decorations awarded to other individuals (such as [name redacted]) who participated in the same events cannot be used as supporting evidence." 8. His records are void of orders awarding him the Air Medal. 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 any orders for the Air Medal pertaining to the applicant. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found relief is not warranted. 2. The Board noted that the applicant's travel by air in Vietnam was completed in the course of his duties as a Judge Advocate General's Corps officer. As such, he used aircraft primarily as a means of transportation, and the policy in effect at the time specified the Air Medal would not be awarded for the type of air travel he undertook. The Board determined that the absence of the Air Medal in his record is not an error or unjust. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING :XXX :XXX :XXX 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. 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 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. U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 provided guidelines for award of the Air Medal and defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours. a. Twenty-five category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) and accrual of a minimum of 25 hours of flight time while engaged in category I missions was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal. However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point. Combat missions were divided into three categories. (1) A category I mission was defined as a mission performed in an assault role in which a hostile force was engaged and was characterized by delivery of ordnance against the hostile force or delivery of friendly troops or supplies into the immediate combat operations area. (2) A category II mission was characterized by support rendered a friendly force immediately before, during, or immediately following a combat operation. (3) A category III mission was characterized by support of friendly forces not connected with an immediate combat operation but which must have been accomplished at altitudes which made the aircraft at times vulnerable to small arms fire or under hazardous weather or terrain conditions. b. To be recommended for award of the Air Medal, an individual must have completed a minimum of 25 hours category I missions, 50 hours category II missions, or 100 hours category III missions. Since various types of missions would have been completed in accumulating flight time toward award of an Air Medal for sustained operations, different computations would have had to be made to combine category I, II, and III flight times and adjust it to a common denominator. NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190009008 6 1