PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           6 September 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001059822

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 his Report of Separation, DD Form 214, be amended to show the name he prefers to use and his correct birth date.

3.  The applicant states that his name is E___ P__ero-Zav___, not E___ P__yro-Eab___, and he prefers to use E___ P___.  He provides a Certification of Birth to show he was born on 1 October 1933, not 16 November 1930.

4.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.  

5.  The provided Certification of Birth shows the applicant’s name as E___ P__ero-Zav___ and that he was born on 1 October 1933.

6.  The applicant entered the Army on 11 January 1954.  He separated on           10 January 1956.  The print on the available DD Form 214 is faint but appears to show his name as E___ P__ero_-Zab___ and his date of birth as 16 November 1930.

7.  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.  In pertinent part it states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the soldier’s most recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge.

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.  While the applicant’s records are not available, he provides an original Certification of Birth that shows his name as E___ P__ero-Zav___ and his date of birth as 1 October 1933.  The Board presumes his induction documents and service records showed this spelling of his name and this date for birth.  

3.  While the Board understands the applicant’s desire to have the records changed to reflect the preferred spelling of his name, it finds no basis for compromising the integrity of the Army’s records.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That the applicant’s DD Form 214 be amended to show his name spelled as reflected on the provided Certification of Birth (E___ P__ero-Zav___) and his date of birth as 1 October 1933.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__lls___  __mhm___  __jtm___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Luther L. Santiful
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001059822	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010906	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.01	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.