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adder's comments have opened the door that you should go through, in my humble opinion. As a former VA DRO and a current VSO this is the argument I would present if I represented your husband.

I would point out that he has the VSM; therefore, it is obvious that he had duty at some location other than Japan or the Philippines since the VSM wasn't given for those locations. While we can't prove exactly where that was, this is proof that something is missing from his personnel records. So let's rule out everything that can be ruled out.

First, he was a storekeeper; therefore, we know that he was not on a flight crew flying over Vietnam. Second, we know that VQ-1 didn't operate off of ships, including aircraft carriers (they flew P-3's and Super Connies for crying out loud), so that rules out service off shore.

So where does that leave us? Obviously he must have earned the VSM by serving on the ground in either Thailand or Vietnam. I don't know if VQ-1 operated out of Thailand or not, but any search of the internet shows that they operated out of South Vietnam; therefore, we have proven that there are missing records (this is different than a mere unsupported assertion by the claimant) AND it is as least as likely as not (probably more likely given the history of VQ-1 in Vietnam) that the VSM was earned on the ground in Vietnam. This invokes the doctrine of reasonable doubt and the claim should be approved.

That would be my argument as his representative.

Cruiser

CplMac wrote:

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Being an AK wouldn't neccessarily prevent him from flying as a crewmember. I personally know of AK's who were on flight pay.

Were these AKs flying with VQ-1? I asked my friend who spent his entire Navy tour with VQ-1 and he said that the crews were all electronic specialists and aircraft mechanics. What would an Aviation Storekeeper do on one of these type crews? As a former aircrewmember myself I know that you had to have a specific job on the aircraft.

VQ-1 operated EA-3Bs off carriers well into the '80's. They had detachments on carriers throughout the Vietnam era. The VQ-1 skipper was killed in an A3 in 1985.

You are correct; however, I don't think VQ-1 was flying EA-3Bs off of carriers during the Vietnam War. They flew out of Danang. I believe that they took their WestPac support to the carriers after the base in Danang was shut down. This is why I say that it strengthens the man's claim that he was on the ground in Vietnam if he has the Vietnam Service Medal as he would most likely have been in Danang rather than on a carrier.

I think that most, if not all, of the carrier based reconnaissance during the Vietnam War was carried out by RA-5Cs attached to one of several squadrons flying this aircraft.

Cruiser