MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            18 October 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001057418

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

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mrs. Carolyn G. Wade		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, that his designated military occupational specialty (MOS) be changed from boilermaker to rifleman or infantryman.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that when he was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS), his civilian occupation was boilermaker and that because he was a certified boilermaker, he was sent to boilermaker school for MOS training.  He further states that once he completed boilermaker school, he was sent to the front lines to fight as a rifleman, which is where he spent his entire military career. 

In support of his request, the applicant provided miscellaneous documentation and a newspaper article showing him standing on an American locomotive that was captured in the invasion of France.  The applicant feels this newspaper article proves that he served in France as a rifleman and not as a boilermaker.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, Report of Separation and Honorable Discharge.

The applicant was inducted into the AUS on 26 May 1943.  Following all military training, the applicant was awarded MOS 030, Boilermaker.

The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he departed the United States on 19 January 1944 and served overseas in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 29 January 1944 through 26 December 1945.  He departed overseas enroute to the United States on 27 December 1945, arriving back in the United States on 16 January 1946.  It also shows that his unit was the 720th Railway Operations Battalion, a unit that required personnel with the boilermaker MOS.  A history of the 720th Railway Operations Battalion indicates that the unit departed Boston, Massachusetts on 19 January 1944 and arrived in Liverpool, England on 29 January 1944.  

On 21 January 1946, the applicant was discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365 for the convenience of the government (demobilization) with an honorable discharge.  He was credited with 2 years, 7 months, and 25 days of creditable military service, the Good Conduct Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Ribbon.  He participated in three campaigns -- Normandy, Northern France, and Central Europe.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

2.  The evidence of record does not support the applicant’s contention that his MOS should be rifleman or infantryman.  The evidence of record shows that he was a boilermaker prior to his induction, that he completed boilermaker training and was awarded MOS 030, Boilermaker.  There is no evidence of record that the applicant was assigned an additional MOS or that his MOS was ever changed.  

3.  The Board notes the following:  the applicant provided a newspaper article with a photograph of himself standing on a locomotive; his WD AGO Form 53-55 states that he served in the 720th Railway Operations Battalion, and; his date of departure from the United States and date of arrival in the ETO coincide exactly with the departure and arrival dates of the 720th Railway Operations Battalion.  All of this supports the argument that the applicant was a boilermaker and not an infantryman during World War II, and that he served in a Railway Operating Battalion and not an infantry unit. 

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__FNE__  ___MHM_  __BJE___  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001057418	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011018	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19460121	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON	For the convenience of the government (demobilization)	
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Director	
ISSUES         1.	100.0500	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.