PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           28 August 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001058937

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, 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, in effect, that block 23 (Date of Enlistment) and block 24 (Date of Entry Into Active Service) of his War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-58 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-General Discharge) be corrected to read 16 May 1946. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that the 16 May 1947 date listed in blocks 
23 and 24 of his WD AGO Form 53-58 is incorrect and should read 16 May 1946. He claims that the information contained in various other blocks of the WD AGO Form 53-58 supports this claim. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that his records were lost in that fire.  

5.  The available evidence includes a WD AGO Form 53-58, which was issued to the applicant on the date of his separation from active duty.  Block 7 (Date of Separation) confirms he was separated on 17 November 1947.  However, blocks 23 and 24 indicate that he enlisted and entered active duty on 16 May 1947.  

6.  Block 36 (Service Outside the Continental U.S. and Return) of the WD AGO 53-58 shows that the applicant arrived in Okinawa on 6 December 1946 and served there until his departure on 22 October 1947.  Block 37 (Total Length of Service) indicates that he served 7 months and 15 days of continental service and 10 months and 16 days of foreign service.  Finally, block 43 (Longevity for Pay Purposes) contains an entry verifying that he served on active duty a total of 1 year, 6 months, and 1 day.  There are also other entries contained in this document that clearly establish that the applicant had entered and was serving on active duty in 1946.  

7.  There is also a General Discharge Certificate on file that confirms the applicant was discharged on 17 November 1947.  In addition, there is a Veterans Administration Insurance Form 350 (Application for National Service Life Insurance), dated 16 May 1946, available that confirms the applicant entered active duty on 16 May 1946 and that he completed this form requesting insurance at the replacement depot that same day.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board notes and finds merit in the applicant’s contention that he entered active duty on 16 May 1946 and that the 16 May 1947 date contained in blocks 23 and 24 of his WD AGO Form 53-58 was the result of an administrative error.  

2.  A review of the available evidence confirms that the applicant was separated from active duty on 17 November 1947, after completing 1 year, 6 months, and 
1 day of active military service.  This would clearly establish that the 16 May 1947 date entered in blocks 23 (Date of Enlistment) and 24 (Date of Entry Into Active Service) of his WD AGO Form 53-58 was in error.  

3.  The Board finds there is more than sufficient evidence to confirm that the applicant actually enlisted in the Army and entered into active service on 16 May 1946.  This is supported by various entries and information contained in his separation document, which verify that he served a total of 1 year, 6 months, and 1 day of active military service and that he was serving on active duty during 1946.  Therefore, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to correct his record to show his enlistment date and date of entry into active service was 
16 May 1946.  

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing the date of enlistment and date of entry into active service of the individual concerned was 16 May 1946 and by issuing him a corrected separation document that reflects this change. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___JNS__  __RTD__  __DPH__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____John N. Slone_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001058937	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2001/08/28	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	GD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1947/11/17	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-369	
DISCHARGE REASON	Lack of Adaptability	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  1021	100.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.