Posted on 02/20/2003 10:55:17 AM PST by honway
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Navy has quietly accepted that Adm. Jeremy "Mike" Boorda was entitled to wear combat decorations on his uniform -- the challenged Vietnam War awards that led to his suicide two years ago.
Navy Secretary John Dalton put into Boorda's file a letter from Elmo Zumwalt Jr., the chief of naval operations during the war, which says it was "appropriate, justified and proper" for Boorda to attach the small bronze combat V's to the ribbons on his uniform. The Navy also modified Boorda's record to list the V's among his other decorations -- recognition that they were earned.
But that stops short of what Zumwalt sought -- unambiguous public recognition that Boorda violated no regulations.
Nonetheless, Zumwalt, in an interview Wednesday, called Dalton's action "posthumous validation of Admiral Boorda's right to have worn the V's based on instructions given by me when I was chief of naval operations."
"My interpretation is that retroactively he has been authorized to wear the V's," Zumwalt added.
Wearing an unauthorized decoration is a severe breach of military protocol.
Decision becomes part of naval records
On May 16, 1996, when his right to wear the decorations was about to be questioned, Boorda, 56, the first enlisted man to become the chief of naval operations in the service's 198-year history, went home, wrote a note "to my sailors," stepped into his garden and fatally shot himself in the chest.
He acted after learning that two Newsweek reporters were on their way to question him about the matter.
The decision by Dalton, who will retire at the end of the year, to place Zumwalt's memo in Boorda's file made it part of naval records.
The "V" stands for valor and signifies service in combat. Boorda served on a destroyer, the USS Craig, in 1965 and as executive officer on another destroyer, the USS Brooke, in 1973, both in combat situations.
In his suicide note, Boorda said, "I am about to be accused of wearing combat devices on two ribbons I earned during sea tours in Vietnam. It turns out I didn't really rate them. When I found out I was wrong I immediately took them off, but it was really too late."
He added: "I couldn't bear to bring dishonor to you."
The matter is complex. The regulations were ambiguous and evolving and Zumwalt said in his memo that his directions authorizing the wearing of the decorations were delivered verbally "in over 100 visits to ships and shore stations" rather than in writing.
Zumwalt's memo and Dalton's were not made public. The Washingtonian magazine reports on them in its forthcoming July issue. The magazine made copies of the memos available to The Associated Press.
Advised by the Navy's Office of Awards and Special Projects in 1995 that he was not entitled to the decorations, Boorda removed the V's from his uniform.
Navy rules revision makes Boorda eligible
In 1965, Boorda did not qualify for the Combat V, the Washingtonian said. But in 1967 the Navy retroactively upgraded all Navy Commendation for Achievement ribbons awarded between 1961 and 1967, making Boorda eligible for the award.
"Admiral Mike Boorda's citations for awards of the Navy Achievement Medal and Navy Commendation Medal plainly state they were awarded for service including `combat operations' and `while operating in combat missions,"' Dalton's memo said.
Zumwalt's said that during the war, his "statements as the official military spokesman for the Navy made it appropriate, justified and proper for Mike to wear the V."
Despite the intense attention paid to Boorda's suicide, the Navy made no acknowledgment of Dalton's action until questioned Wednesday. Dalton's "memorandum for the record" was dated April 3, 1998, almost two years after Boorda's suicide.
Boorda's widow, Bettie, could not be reached for comment. She has an unlisted telephone number. Her son, Edward, captain of the USS Russell, reported on duty in the Arabian Gulf, could not be reached. Dalton did not respond to requests, made over three days, for an interview.
In a 20,000 word investigation of the Boorda suicide in 1996, Nick Kotz wrote in the Washingtonian that the decorations dispute may have been only one factor pushing Boorda toward suicide. He cited hostility from the Navy's "old guard," who considered him a "political admiral" and felt he had appeased politicians in his handling of the Navy's Tailhook sexual harassment scandal.
Re #120: Pretty creepy, alright.
The "V" stands for valor and signifies service in combat. Boorda served on a destroyer, the USS Craig, in 1965 and as executive officer on another destroyer, the USS Brooke, in 1973, both in combat situations.
In 1965, Boorda did not qualify for the Combat V, the Washingtonian said. But in 1967 the Navy retroactively upgraded all Navy Commendation for Achievement ribbons awarded between 1961 and 1967, making Boorda eligible for the award.
"Admiral Mike Boorda's citations for awards of the Navy Achievement Medal and Navy Commendation Medal plainly state they were awarded for service including `combat operations' and `while operating in combat missions,"' Dalton's memo said.
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Exactly what part of the information are you disputing:
1.Citations for awards of the Navy Achievement Medal and Navy Commendation Medal plainly state they were awarded for service including `combat operations' and `while operating in combat missions,"' Dalton's memo said.
2.Boorda served on a destroyer, the USS Craig, in 1965 and as executive officer on another destroyer, the USS Brooke, in 1973, both in combat situations
3.Navy retroactively upgraded all Navy Commendation for Achievement ribbons awarded between 1961 and 1967, making Boorda eligible for the award
Guys I know who worked under him have the view he was a man of impeccable integrity and honor. Pardon me if I accept the word of aviators who have shared ship duty and their cockpits with Admiral Boorda over your informed opinion.
Boorda's Navy Record Remains Same Admiral Committed Suicide After Questions Arose About His Combat Decorations
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (July 3)
If it was covered extensively then you would not mind providing a link to this article or at least provide the source, would you?. How about an article from a major publication?
SPRINGFIELD, Ill ?
Would you consider providing a source for this claim, or should we take your word for it. Since you are so ready to defame an honorable man, you'll have to excuse my reluctance to accept your word for it.
''The final decision was there was no error or injustice in Adm. Boorda's record and the panel was unanimous in their recommendation,'' Van Dyke said.
All of this is absolutely correct. There was no need to alter the record. Admiral Boorda's citations clearly stated the awards were presented while he was involved in combat operations. The record as it stands supports the "V" device on the Achievement and Commendation ribbon.
Case closed.
I remember wondering at the time what the audience must be thinking as they watched him. His focus, however, was not the live audience, whoever they were. It clearly was the cameras.
In 1965, Boorda did not qualify for the Combat V, the Washingtonian said. But in 1967 the Navy retroactively upgraded all Navy Commendation for Achievement ribbons awarded between 1961 and 1967, making Boorda eligible for the award.
"Admiral Mike Boorda's citations for awards of the Navy Achievement Medal and Navy Commendation Medal plainly state they were awarded for service including `combat operations' and `while operating in combat missions,"' Dalton's memo said.
You have already misstated at least one fact on this thread. Your credibility is suffering.
You want to post a link where this story was covered.
I haven't read Jim Webbs'opinion. If you provide a link it may be worth more than your "extensive coverage" remark.
It would be difficult for those aviators to have shared much time in a cockpit with Boorda as you claim, since he wasn't a Naval aviator
As commander of a Carrier Battle Group, he would fly backseat.
Does this mean you believe at 12:30 he was in his Pentagon office, then he drove to his house,typed two suicide notes,then shot himself in the chest, all in 90 minutes.
He had a 1:30 meeting with the Deputy Secretary of Defense and a 3:30 meeting with the President.
If you seriously buy all that, there is nothing I can write to change your mind.
The record does indeed remain unaltered as Boordas' OQR indicates that he was not entitled to wear the Combat V on the two medals in question. Read the story again, very slowly. Have someone read it to you, very slowly. Read your quote above "There was no need to alter the record." You yourself admit that Boordas' record is correct; he is not entitled to wear the Combat V. Boordas' family requested that his OQR be changed to indicate that he was entitled to wear the Combat V. His OQR said that he was not entitled to wear the Combat V. That request was denied by the Board for Corrections of Naval Records. His records, which indicate he was not entitled to wear the Combat V, remain unchanged. Despite the memos that Dalton and Zumwalt submitted, Boorda was not and is still not entitled to wear the Combat V on those medals. Despite your ability to comprehend the written word, Boorda is not entitled to the Combat V. What part of the following two paragraphs can't you understand?
The Boorda family, through one of the late admiral's sons, Navy Cmdr. Ed Boorda, petitioned the Board for Corrections of the Naval Records last September to change the record and show he was entitled to wear the decorations.
``The final decision was there was no error or injustice in Adm. Boorda's record and the panel was unanimous in their recommendation that the petition be denied and the record remain as it was,'' Van Dyke said. ``It was a very careful review _ a review of the records.''
Navy: Boorda did not earn medals
Admiral committed suicide in 1996 amid decorations controversy
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The Navy has decided that Adm. Jeremy ``Mike'' Boorda, the first enlisted man to make chief of naval operations, didn't earn some of the combat decorations he wore.
Boorda, who grew up in Momence, committed suicide in 1996 amid questions about the Vietnam combat decorations he had only stopped wearing the year before on the advice of a Navy panel.
Boorda's family petitioned the Board for Corrections of the Naval Records last year to indicate in the late admiral's file he was eligible to wear the medals.
A board of three senior-level civilians in the Navy Department has recommended the official record remain unaltered, Navy spokesman Capt. Mark Van Dyke said Friday.
The ruling, made late last month, was upheld by Carolyn Becraft, who has the final say as assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs, Van Dyke said.
Boorda, who joined the Navy at 16, took his life after 40 years service in 1996 just before he was to be quizzed by Newsweek reporters about wearing Combat Vs _ tiny bronze letters standing for ``valor'' that he wore attached to medals.
In a suicide note ``to my sailors,'' he said he felt disgraced.
Last year, then-Navy Secretary John Dalton placed a memo in Boorda's file _ backed by another memo from Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., the Vietnam War-era chief of naval operations _ that declared him eligible to have worn the decorations. But Dalton said only the Navy review board could officially change the record to say Boorda had the right to wear them.
The Boorda family, through one of the late admiral's sons, Navy Cmdr. Ed Boorda, petitioned the Board for Corrections of the Naval Records last September to change the record and show he was entitled to wear the decorations.
``The final decision was there was no error or injustice in Adm. Boorda's record and the panel was unanimous in their recommendation that the petition be denied and the record remain as it was,'' Van Dyke said. ``It was a very careful review _ a review of the records.''
He provided the information to The Associated Press after an inquiry prompted by the state of Illinois' decision to award a $20,000 grant for a memorial in Boorda's hometown, Momence, about 50 miles south of Chicago.
Ed Boorda is stationed on a ship in Hawaii, Van Dyke said, and could not be reached. Another son, former naval officer Robert Boorda, had no comment.
He removed the decorations from his ribbons in 1995, on the advice of the Navy's Office of Awards and Special Projects.
Dalton's memo says the citations justifying the awards ``plainly state they were awarded for service including combat operations.'' Zumwalt's memo said it was ``appropriate, justified and proper'' for Boorda to have the decorations
Source: Beloit Daily News
Thanks for the video. It's worth a thousand replies. The guy in your video selected the three member civilian board, but the citations as originally written are sufficient for the award.
Beloit Daily News
This is your idea of "extensively" covered?
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