ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 13 January 2022 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20210011363 APPLICANT REQUESTS: in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) for the period ending 22 September 1969, to show award of the Air Medal with additional oak leaf clusters. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: . 2 DD Forms 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) . Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim) . Letter dated 21 October 2014 . DA Form 759 (Individual Flight Record and Flight Certificate – Army), Part 1, Sheet Number 7 . DD Form 214 . 5-page Wikipedia extract pertaining to the Air Medal FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three-year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code, 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, in effect, he completed 624 hours of pilot combat time while serving on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam from October 1967 to October 1968. In accordance with the criteria for award of the Air Medal, he would be eligible for additional oak leaf clusters as appropriate. 3. The applicant was ordered to active duty from the U.S. Army Reserve on 23 September 1966, as a rotary wing aviator. 4. General Orders Number 39, issued by Headquarters, 1st Aviation Brigade on 4 January 1968, awarded him the Air Medal for meritorious achievement in aerial flight for the period 22 November to 6 December 1967. 5. The applicant was honorably released from active duty in the rank/grade of captain/O-3 on 22 September 1969. He completed 3 years of total active service with 1 year of service in the Republic of Vietnam. His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded or authorized the: . National Defense Service Medal . Army Aviator Badge . Air Medal . Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) . 1 overseas service bar 6. The available evidence shows he was assigned to Troop C, 3rd Armored Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry, U.S. Army Pacific -Vietnam from 6 December 1967 to 19 April 1968, and with Troop B, 7th Squadron, 1st Air Cavalry Regiment from 13 July to 7 October 1968. 7. The applicant provides DA Form 759 (Part 1), Sheet 7, from September 1968, which indicates he completed 624 hours of Single Rotor, Rotary Wing, Pilot Combat Time out of his 852 hours of Total Pilot Time. 8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states that the Air Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service while participating in aerial flight. This award is primarily intended for personnel on flying status, but may also be awarded to those personnel whose combat duties require them to fly, for example personnel in the attack elements of units involved in air-land assaults against an armed enemy. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required. The version of the regulation in effect at the time the applicant served stated that an oak leaf cluster would be awarded to denote the second and subsequent awards of the Air Medal. However, the regulation currently in effect provides that Arabic numerals are now used instead of oak leaf clusters for the second and succeeding awards of the Air Medal. The numeral "2" denotes the second award of the Air Medal. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that partial relief was warranted. 2. The Board found that during the applicant's period of active duty service in Vietnam, award of the Air Medal was based on three factors: total hours flown, total missions flown, and types of missions flown. Unfortunately, in this case only one of the three factors is known, i.e., total combat hours flown. To fairly assess how many additional awards of the Air Medal the applicant may have earned, data for the other two factors must be provided. While the Board found the applicant did earn additional awards of the Air Medal, the Board found insufficient information available to equitably determine how many awards of the Air Medal the applicant earned. The Board did determine, however, that the available evidence is sufficient to support a conclusion that the applicant earned at least one additional award of the Air Medal, which should be added to his DD Form 214. 3. The Board concurred with the corrections described in Administrative Note(s) below. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF :XX :XX :XX GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 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: . Awarding him the Air Medal (2nd Award) for the period 7 December 1967 through 31 December 1967 . Adding the Air Medal (2nd Award) to his DD Form 214 . Making the corrections described in Administrative Note(s) below 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 (list what was denied). 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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): The following orders and regulatory cites are sufficient to make the following administrative corrections to the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending on 22 September 1969 without action by the Board: . DAGO Number 21, dated 1969, awarded him the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation . DA PAM 672-3 paragraph 8a (5,6,7,8) a. add to item 22c (Foreign and/or Sea Service) the entry "USARV." b. add to item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and the Vietnam Service Medal with 4 bronze service stars. 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 ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 95-1 (Flight Regulation) covers aircraft operations, crew requirements, and flight rules. The regulation specifies that each crew member must present his or her individual flight records to the unit of assignment. The flying experience and qualification data for each rated crew member and flight surgeon in aviation service and each non-rated crew member will be documented on several forms among which are the DA Form 759 and the DA Form 759-1 (Individual Flight Record and Flight Certificate-Army (Aircraft Closeout). 3. The "Mission Data" column on the DA Form 759-1 lists a single character for the mission identification (ID). During the Vietnam War, the following Mission IDs were used: 4. His record did not contain various forms related to flight hours, missions, and awards of the Air Medal. The applicant provided a DA Form 759 covering the period of September 1968, which shows during his assignment to Troop B, 7th Squadron, 1st Air Cavalry Regiment, he completed 624 hours of pilot combat time. DA Forms 759-1 are not available and do not show the type of missions he flew (Category I, Category II or Category III). 5. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that the Air Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service while participating in aerial flight. This award is primarily intended for personnel on flying status, but may also be awarded to those personnel whose combat duties require them to fly, for example personnel in the attack elements of units involved in air-land assaults against an armed enemy. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required. The version of the regulation in effect at the time the applicant served stated that an oak leaf cluster would be awarded to denote the second and subsequent awards of the Air Medal. However, the regulation currently in effect provides that Arabic numerals are now used instead of oak leaf clusters for the second and succeeding awards of the Air Medal. The numeral "2" denotes the second award of the Air Medal. 6. United States Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided, in pertinent part, guidelines for award of the Air Medal. It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations. It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours. 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. 7. Combat missions were divided into three categories. 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. A category II mission was characterized by support rendered a friendly force immediately before, during or immediately following a combat operation. 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. 8. To be recommended for award of the Air Medal, an individual must have completed a minimum of 25 category I missions, 50 category II missions, or 100 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 time and adjust it to a common denominator. 9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states a bronze service star is authorized with the Vietnam Service Medal award for each Vietnam campaign a member is credited with participating in. Appendix B shows that during his service in Vietnam, participation credit was awarded for the following four campaigns: . Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase III . TET Counteroffensive . Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase IV . Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase V 10. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the awards received by units serving in the Republic of Vietnam. During the period in which the applicant was assigned to Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment his unit was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period 22 February 1967 through 17 May 1968 by Department of the Army General Order Number 21, dated 1969. 11. Army Regulation 15-185 prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The ABCMR considers individual applications that are properly brought before it. The ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record. It is not an investigative body. The ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. Mission Symbol Service Missions A Acceptance test Flight F Maintenance Flight S Service Mission T Training Flight X Experimental Test Flight C Combat Mission //NOTHING FOLLOWS//