PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           4 November 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999018859

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Elizabeth Buchanon		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that his DD Form 214 be corrected to show his correct date of birth and to show he was wounded in the head, not the hand.

3.  The applicant states that he was born on 28 May 1933, not 16 June 1930.  He provides his birth certificate and his DD Form 214 as supporting evidence.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  The information contained herein was obtained from documents provided with his application.

5.  The applicant was inducted into the service on 25 April 1951.  He voluntarily extended for 1 year.  He was separated on 8 February 1954, with a general discharge under honorable conditions, in pay grade E-2, under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-360, upon completion of his expiration term of service.  He had completed 2 years, 9 months and 2 days of creditable active service and had 12 days of lost time.  His DD Form 214 shows his date of birth as 16 June 1930 and that he was wounded in his left hand.

6.  The applicant’s certificate of birth registration shows he was born on 28 May 1933.  This document is an original certificate issued in 1981.  It is not a corrected certificate.

7.  The applicant’s medical records are not available and he has provided no evidence to show he was wounded in the head.

8.  Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents prepared for soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army.  It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge. 

9.  Army Regulation 635-200 is the current regulation that sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Under current standards, only the honorable characterization may be awarded a soldier upon completion of his period of enlistment.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the accuracy of its records.  The data and information contained in those records should actually reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created.  In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, this Board is reluctant to recommend that those records be changed.

2.  Although the applicant’s personnel records are not available, the Board concludes that a Government error occurred.  The certificate of birth registration he provides is an original document and it is not a corrected document.  The Board concludes that an error occurred when his induction papers were prepared, resulting in the recording of an incorrect date of birth, which further resulted in the incorrect date of birth being recorded on his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant’s medical records are not available and he provides no evidence to show he was wounded in the head and not the hand.  In the absence such evidence, this Board is reluctant to recommend that his DD Form 214 be changed to reflect he suffered a head wound.

4.  The Board also notes that the evidence of record shows the applicant accrued 12 days of lost time during his term of service.  Even without knowing his disciplinary record, in accordance with regulations then in effect a characterization of his service as general under honorable conditions was appropriate considering that lost time.  

5.  However, the applicant was separated upon completion of his normal expiration term of service.  He voluntarily extended for 1 year during a time of war.  Under current standards, he would have received a fully honorable characterization of service.

6.  In view of the foregoing, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by changing the applicant’s DD Form 214 to show his date of birth as 28 May 1933 and his character of service as honorable.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__eb____  __aao___  __hof___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Elizabeth Buchanon
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999018859	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19991104	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.00	
2.	110.00	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.