IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 28 January 2021 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20200001291 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to reflect award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) with “V” Device. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * self-authored statement * proposed BSM award narrative * DD Form 214 covering the period ending 9 December 1970 * DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), dated 3 February 1975 * DD Form 214, covering the period ending 7 January 1977 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the 3-year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code, section 1552(b); however, the 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. His BSM with “V” Device is missing from his DD Form 214. There should be two BSMs listed. The BSM for meritorious achievement is listed, but the one for valor was never added to his DD Form 214. The mission for his award took place in the middle of January 1972 and the unit to which he was assigned started to close in the middle of February 1972. Upon leaving Vietnam he was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens, MA. In August 1972, he was presented the BSM for achievement in a ceremony at Fort Devens and this is the BSM that is currently listed on his DD Form 214. b. In October 1972, he left the 10th Group and transferred to the 1st Special Forces Group in Okinawa. While he was on temporary duty (TDY) in Korea in late 1973, a message came to his team sergeant for him to attend an award ceremony the next week. His team sergeant told the commander that he wasn’t due to return from Korea for another month, thus someone decided to just deliver the award to his team room and one of his team mates put it in the applicant’s locker. He found the award when he was cleaning out his locker in May 1974 as the 1st Group prepared to leave Okinawa and return to Fort Bragg, NC. He had orders to go to language school at the Presidio of Monterey, CA and shipped some of his personal belongings to California and the rest to his home of record in Missouri. The folder with the BSM for heroic achievement was in the items he shipped home to Missouri and were destroyed in a fire a few years later. c. In 1992, the commander of the unit he was assigned to in Vietnam called him and stated that he and his wife would be traveling through Missouri (he had since moved back to Missouri) and they would like for them to get together for dinner. Arrangements were made and during the dinner he asked if he had received the medal as he had done the paperwork for it when they were leaving Vietnam. He related how the folder had been destroyed by a house fire and he said not to worry, that he always kept a copy of all the awards and decorations he had submitted. His former commander sent him a copy of the write-up for the award when he returned to his home in Florida and he has provided a copy for the Board’s review. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 November 1969. 4. The applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he served in Vietnam from 2 March 1971 through 5 February 1972. 5. The applicant provided what appears to be an award narrative written by Colonel R____, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) which states the following: a. The President of the United States of America, authorized by Executive Order 11046 on 24 August 1962, takes pleasure in presenting the BSM to the applicant for heroic achievement in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special forces, attached to the United States Army Training Advisory Group. b. On 15 January 1972, while leading a 6-man patrol on a reconnaissance mission in enemy territory, the team had just completed a helicopter infiltration when it was subjected to intense automatic weapons fire from a North Vietnamese Army unit in well- fortified positions on two sides of the landing zone. Forming his troops in a hasty perimeter, the applicant directed helicopter gunship strafing runs against the entrenched enemy. c. A rescue helicopter attempted to extract the surrounded patrol from the landing zone, but was riddled by savage hostile machine gun fire and forced to depart. The applicant then led his team to a more secure position in the nearby jungle and directed tactical aircraft in a devastating air attack which finally silenced the North Vietnamese. The applicant’s fearless leadership saved the lives of his fellow Soldiers and resulted in 21 enemy killed. 6. Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam General Orders Number 518, dated 11 March 1972, awarded the applicant the BSM for outstanding service in connection with military operations against a hostile force from March 1971 through March 1972. 7. The applicant’s first DD Form 214 shows he was honorably discharged on 9 December 1970 at the expiration of his term of service for the purpose of immediate reenlistment. Among his awards, badges, and decorations listed is one BSM. 8. The applicant’s available records do not contain orders for a second award of the BSM or a BSM with “V” Device. 9. The applicant reenlisted in the Regular Army on 10 December 1972. 10. A DD Form 215, issued on 3 February 1975, corrected the applicant’s DD Form 214 covering the period ending 9 December 1970. One of the corrections shows his date of discharge to have been 9 December 1972 in lieu of 9 December 1970. 11. A second DD Form 214 shows the applicant was honorably discharged on 7 January 1977, after 7 years, 1 month, and 28 days of total active service. Among his awards, badges, and decorations listed is one BSM. 12. The applicant’s records contain a second DD Form 215, issued on 7 March 2000, which corrected his DD Form 214 covering the period ending 7 January 1977, to add to his awards and decorations the Army Commendation Medal. 13. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Military Awards Branch, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973, failed to reveal any orders for the BSM 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 carefully reviewed the documents provided by the applicant, and found them insufficient as a basis for confirming that a recommendation for award of the BSM with "V" Device was approved by a commander with authority to approve award of this medal. In the absence of additional evidence confirming the award was properly approved, such as orders or documentation confirming orders were published, the Board determined the BSM with "V" Device should not be added to the applicant's record at this time. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING :XX :XX :XX 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, United States Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 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 3-year statute of limitations if the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy, or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20200001291 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1