Foxhound6

Berta I received an email back from Marine History Div regarding my inquiries about requesting information. They didnt have exactly what we wanted so it is good I emailed first. However, they did point me in a good direction and provided the MUC for 3d FSR. According to the link in the email, we can fill out a DD-149 and give any supporting documents. From the email, you can request a complete records review in that DD-149. This may be the best bet I think. Hopefully, this information is useful for others as well! UPDATE: Navy Corrections replied stating they do not do that type of inquiry, but forwarded it along to the Commandant of the Marine Corps for processing there.

Here is another good tid bit of info, specifically regarding your question about Medals, awards, etc. Wouldn't these awards be in his record as well? Does provide some interesting clue though.

Berta, Have a look at this compared to the Service Record unit assignments in previous post...I obtained this info from Marines.mil https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/U.S. Marines In Vietnam Vietmanization and Redeployment 1970-1971 PCN 19000309600_4.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2x-fXDkyppoA1tivss-C7r0bQUHVhzv4_ihfxPo_uddA8A58UjIiQxAPs I think you may have been right regarding the Veteran possibly being assigned to 3d MARDIV. According to this, III MAF was under operational control of FLC and under admin control by FMFPAC... General Padalino, formerly of FLC, took over as Commander of 3d FSR in 1968 (the unit the Veteran was in according to his records). That Command was comprised of Headquarters & Service, Supply, and Maintenance Bn (Engineers). I believe the veteran was in this Maintenance Bn. The article goes on to state that H&S Bn provided Admin, comms, transpo and other elements of FLC and III MAF. The article is a gold mine of info pertaining to both the veterans unit AND timeline. I am posting some more pages that pertain to this case. It is VERY interesting to read and compare it to the case...Please have a look.

The only DD215s they have are the corrections of his service dates. I am unsure where to land on the DD214s to be honest. The DD214 ALMOST looks more like a transfer order from Active back to Reserve? It looks entirely different than I am used to seeing so its fairly foreign to me.

Found something based on the 3d-FSR FMF unit the veteran was assigned to in Okinawa! Granted this is WIKI, I know. However, I am sure I can find more regarding this unit somewhere. I found this VERY interesting...

Berta - Is this any better?

They do.. I feel like while they were trying to correct dates, they misunderstood how the 214's worked and may have fouled it up some. I am not sure. Both were correcting Separation dates.

Berta LOL how ironic! I JUST posted the new info regarding his units and movements. Please have a look I'm thinking this may be more helpful?

GBArmy That's exactly the plan. The wife found the NPRC records that Senator McCain got for her (she wrote him) at the time. I found a lot more info about his movements and things of that nature. I feel like I just need to show this unit was there at the time. It shows him going to replacement CO in CAMPEN then onto H&S Bn, 3dFSR FMFPAC. Here are the PDF files I created for these documents. If anyone could look them over with some knowledge of how things ran back then I would greatly appreciate it. It seems like the times he claimed to be in Nam, he is a ghost on paper except for being assigned to that SptCo at H&S Bn, 3dFSR: Sam service record_Redacted.pdf Sam stuff.pdf travel Sam Edited.pdf enlist.ent Sam_Redacted.pdf

Yeah sorry about those. Ill get better docs when I go back over later. His dd214 DOES show about 12 months of Foreign service. So that's what I am trying to focus on. He was in Okinawa for a short time as well which lines up with some deployments there. The mother is looking for photos of him in uniform (maybe see some unit patches). Also asking other relatives if they remember anything or have letters, etc. I found it very odd to have the foreign service time but no other record of it. Note* Uploaded Older DD214 - New one shows 11 mo Foreign duty, have the 215s as well. Also found some older photos. Perhaps some may recognize object or the area? A camp name perhaps? These photos could be from when in Okinawa or Nam. Not sure. Not having too much luck with being able to show being in country so far..Or if maybe a camp in Okinawa possibly housed AO chems and being a loader, had some sort of exposure? Thanks for any info!

Berta and all. Here is what I have so far from my friend and his mother that I was speaking about the other day. From what I can tell, They do have the DD214 and DD215's. However, there DD214 itself does not show any type of locations of service as the newer ones do.It does show a previous command which I assume is the one he deployed with. I took notice of the "Foreign/Seas service" section of his 214 and noticed he has Foreign service for 11 months and 20 or so days, just long enough to be in Vietnam... However, I feel I may have to dig up records pertaining to that unit at the time in order to prove it? I am unsure on that exactly. It was also strange they had 2 DD215's, also unsure what to make of that. *edit - I remember the wife speaking about the veteran making a stop in Okinawa before Vietnam. I found a unit that fits that timeline of when the veteran would have arrive in Okinawa to link up with as a support engineer. I dont have a way to confirm, but it fits...: " On July 4, 1965, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines was ordered to Vietnam. During this first year 9th Marines took part in approximately 45 battalion-sized and several company-sized operations. During the next four years 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines operated in or around Danang, Hue, Phu Bai, Dong Ha, Camp Carrol, Cam Lo, Con Thien, Than Cam Son, Quanq Tri, Cua Viet, Vandergrift Combat Base and Khe Sanh. For its actions in Vietnam 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines was awarded a third Presidential Unit Citation, a bronze star in lieu of second award of the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two silver stars, and Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. In August 1969, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines left Vietnam and returned to Okinawa. Its role in the Southeast Asian Conflict ended with the recapture of the Mayaquez and the landing on Koh Tang Island in May 1975 (Veteran completed his training sometime in 1969). In February 1979, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines became the first battalion to rotate to the United States as part of the unit deployment program. " via http://www.2ndbattalion9thmarines.org/About_Us As far as medical is concerned, I believe I have enough to prove the VA wrong. The mother has HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of medical records pertaining to his disability. I couldn't copy them all but I found many pertinent ones that show the initial DX plus ongoing treatment. I am posting all of it here in hopes someone might make more sense of it along with the Rating decision. Sorry for some of the photos, the mother found more docs after I left and sent them via her phone. Matt Spina Bifida_Redacted.pdf

Berta Keep doing you! It is great to see that there is help for folks like this. Seemingly sometimes feeling overlooked or forgotten can be discouraging. I know they will be eternally grateful for the help! I will be going over there tomorrow. I will inquire more. However, for some reason, I think I recall a time when he used to get assistance with the DAV or something similar (I've known the family for 20+ years). Perhaps there may be something there as well. Thanks for that thought!

TBird Thank you for adding this topic officially! I will begin posting questions or progress updates on my friends Spina Bifida AO claim. His father recently passed away and they have had very little time or resources to deal with the VA and the veteran never tried to do anything per se. I am trying to help them get the benefits they are entitled to. Hopefully, between this forum and its members, I could assist them in doing so. Thanks to all!

This is great info, Berta, thank you so much! I have browsed around the VA site, looking at many different AO topics on it and so far you have been the one to put it into much better perspective for me. Ill get on getting you that info as soon as I can. On a side note: With the Veteran having passed away, is it possible/advantageous to try and get the surviving spouse and son access to Ebenefits/VA.gov/Myhealthevet using the Veterans information (I believe I can assist them with that process)? Thank you again!

Berta Thank you! I will work on getting the denial and any other important facts posted. However, this could be sometime Monday or Tuesday before I can. I am quite sure he does not have the occulta type. His form is the open spine, about the size of a fist or grapefruit. I will verify all of what you asked and will provide more documentation/info as I can get it. I dont believe the Veteran ever did an AO presumptive, but I wont know until I can view records. I also am in the process of helping the surviving spouse request the veterans C-File. I feel the C-File could help shed a lot of light on the subject along with the previous denial. I will post here once I have everything compiled. Thanks again for the great start point!

Berta I hate to bother you with such a long, summary post. However, trying to wrap my own head around this for my friend, I can't help but think you may be able to help shed some light for us? My friend recently lost his father. His father was a Vietnam veteran from '69 - '72. He later had a son in 1987, Matt (my friend). Matt was born with spina bifida, he has had to have numerous medical procedures and all of the other terrible things that come with this disability. The veteran and his wife did try to make a claim for Agent Orange exposure but due to an error in his service dates at that time, the claim was denied. I was also told that the decision letter stated that Matt did not have spina bifida (I am going to be viewing all of the documents saved over the years soon to get a clearer picture as to what happened). As far as I know, attempts to look into the issue have been unfruitful for them after the denial. Fast forward to a few months ago. The veteran passes away and while doing the paperwork needed for the VA at the mortuary, the mortuary somehow found the CORRECT service dates for the veteran and put them in the form they sent to the VA after his death (I am in the process of requesting the veterans C-file with his surviving spouse to see what is actually in it. I also asked the spouse to see if the mortuary has this document to provide a copy). The spouse also claims to have the corrected DD214 of the deceased veteran. I am quite sure I am missing a lot of info. However, I am still trying to get all of their documents together in order to try and help them out as they have NO clue where to even begin nor do they have access to any online platforms like Ebenefits or VA.gov. This is the summary of the issue as I have heard it so far from them. My question is: is this something that could qualify as a CUE claim? If so, what might be the best process or place to begin? If not, will this be something we would need to do a supplemental claim for under the new RAMP since it has already been denied before? ANY insight you may provide would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading!

This! I knew I felt like I had overlooked something. I thought the same thing in regards to the decision conflicting with itself. In regard to claim conditions; I always am very general about it. When I filed claim for my back, I listed it only as "spine" and let the VA or my records give the DX itself. Let them fill you into a category. I imagine it can get dicey when you start getting more specific? I knew someone would come along and correct

It sounds like they took the opinion of the VA doctor as more reliable as fact versus your doctors opinion from 2017. It appears you did not have a "current" diagnosis of the lower bilateral knee strain and painful ROM specifically. It sounds like they denied you for the osteo before and they stuck with their original decision on the DX. Your doctor only stated that it (the condition, in his opinion being the knee strain and painful ROM) is more likely than not secondary to your left ankle issue. So while he opines to the issue being related to your left ankle service connected disability, the VA did not accept his "diagnosis" if you will. Instead, chose the diagnosis opinion of their doctor from your exam in 2019 (and by the sounds of it, the previous denial). I could be mistaken but to me, this is what it sounds like.