IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 7 March 2023 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20220009476 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Award of the Army Good Conduct Medal and correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United Stated Report of Transfer or Discharge) to add the Army Good Conduct Medal. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENT(S) CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Excerpts from Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards), 5 March 2019 * DD Form 214, 1 October 1970 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the 3-year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. 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. A review of the applicant's record and Army regulations shows the applicant meets the criteria for additional awards not currently listed on his DD Form 214. These awards will be addressed through an administrative correction without action by the Board. 3. The applicant states, he served in the Army for three years without any disciplinary actions against him. However, he was not awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal upon discharge. He believes per AR 600-8-22, the Army Good Conduct Medal should have been automatically awarded because he had no disciplinary actions against him during his three years of service, including over a year in Vietnam. He wants to be awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal and requests his record be updated to add it to his DD Form 214. 4. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 2 October 1967. 5. Special Orders (SO) Number 141, Headquarters, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Fort Carson, CO, dated 20 May 1968 awarded him the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16). 6. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows: a. Item 31 (Foreign Service) shows service in Vietnam from 24 July 1968 to 29 July 1969. b. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows, during his service in Vietnam, he was assigned to the following units: (1) Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 75th Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, 26 July 1968 to 30 December 1968, and (2) Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 75th Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, 31 December 1969 to 28 July 1969. c. Item 38 also shows he received all “unknown” or “excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings before and after he attended service school for Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) 41E20 (Camera Repairman). On 2 December 1967, while attending service school, he received an efficiency rating of “G(A)” Good (Average). 7. His DD Form 214 states he was honorably released from active duty on1 October 1970 Item 24 lists the following awards: * National Defense Service Medal * Republic of Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation * Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960) * Army Commendation Medal 8. The applicant's record shows that except for the Good (Average) efficiency rating he received at his service school, he had all “unknown” or “excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings and he received an honorable characterization of service. Additionally, his record does not contain evidence of convictions by a court-martial or a commander's statement of disqualification. 9. By regulation, the Army Good Conduct Medal was awarded for each three years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service completed. The enlisted person must have had all “excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings, and there must have been no convictions by court-martial. Ratings of “Unknown” for portions of the period under consideration and service school efficiency ratings based upon academic proficiency of at least “Good” rendered subsequent to 22 November 1955 were not disqualifying. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence found within the military record, the Board found that relief was not warranted. The applicant’s contentions, the military record, and regulatory guidance were carefully considered. The applicant served on active duty from 2 October 1967 to 1 October 1970, completing 3 years of active service. The applicant's record shows that except for the Good (Average) efficiency rating he received at his service school, he had all “unknown” or “excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings and he received an honorable characterization of service. Additionally, his record does not contain evidence of convictions by a court- martial or a commander's statement of disqualification. Based on the evidence, the Board determined he should be awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award). BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected, in addition to the corrections addressed in Administrative Note(s) below, by: * awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award) for service during the period 2 October 1967 through 1 October 1970 * adding award of the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award) to his DD Form 214 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): Make the following amendments to his DD Form 214: a. delete the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, and b. add the - Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze service stars and Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16). REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, U.S. 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. AR 600-8-22 (Military Awards), Paragraph 2-14 (Vietnam Service Medal) provides, in part, 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 V (1 July 1968 to 1 November 1968) * Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase VI (2 November 1968 to 22 February 1969) * Tet 69/Counteroffensive (23 February 1969 to 8 June 1969) * Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 (9 June 1969 to 31 October 1969) 3. AR 672-5-1 (Awards), in effect at the time, stated the Army Good Conduct Medal was awarded for each 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service completed on or after 27 August 1940; for first award only, 1 year served entirely during the period 7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946; and, for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year. The enlisted person must have had all “excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings. Ratings of “Unknown” for portions of the period under consideration were not disqualifying. Service school efficiency ratings based upon academic proficiency of at least “Good” rendered subsequent to 22 November 1955 were not disqualifying. There must have been no convictions by a court-martial. However, there was no right or entitlement to the medal until the immediate commander made a positive recommendation for its award and until the awarding authority announced the award in general orders. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20220009476 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1