MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           07 FEBRUARY 2002              
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001061682

	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	
	Ms. Gale J. Thomas		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Lester Echols		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:  That the records of his deceased next of kin, a former servicemember (FSM), be corrected to show his home of record (HOR) as Bay City, Michigan vice Traverse City, Michigan, in order to allow the FSM’s name to be placed on a memorial in Bay City. 

APPLICANT STATES:  That the FSM lived with his paternal grandparents in Bay City, Michigan for 18 years after the death of his mother in November 1945.  He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in September 1956, and was discharge in September 1958.  The applicant notes that the permanent address for mailing purposes, after the FSM’s separation, is listed as Bay City, Michigan, on the 1958 separation document.  In support of his request the applicant submits a copy of the FSM’s discharge certificate from the Marine Corps, his school records from Bay City Public School, and an article about his death from the local Bay City Newspaper.  He also submits two other acknowledgements of the FSM’s death.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The FSM’s military records show:

He enlisted in the Regular Army in April 1959, for a period of 3 years.  His DD Form 4 (Enlistment Record- Armed Forces of the United States) reflects his home address as Elmwood Avenue, Traverse City, Michigan, the same address as that of his father.

Throughout his military career the FSM used the Traverse City address as his home address.  His Report of Medical Examination, Medical History Report and his Statements of Personal History all show that he was born in Bay City, but his home address is consistently reflected as Traverse City.  

The FSM continued on active duty through three reenlistments and on 8 July 1966 he was killed in action while serving in the Republic of Vietnam.  His casualty report reflects a spouse living in Traverse City and his father living at the Elmwood Avenue address in Traverse City.  Both of those individuals were notified of the FSM’s death.  One of the documents submitted in support of the applicant’s request indicates the FSM’s “home” was Traverse City.

Army Regulation 601-210 establishes the policies and procedures for the 
preparation of enlistment contracts.  It states, in pertinent part, that the HOR 
address entered on the enlistment contract will be the address declared by the
applicant to be their permanent home or actual home at the time of enlistment. 
A temporary address will not be entered.

The Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) provides, in pertinent part, that the HOR is the place recorded as the home of the individual at the time of enlistment or induction.  There is no authority to change the HOR as officially recorded at 

time of entry into the military service.  However, there is authority to correct a HOR if erroneously entered on the records at that time and then only for travel and transportation purposes.  Correction of the HOR must be based on evidence that a bona fide error was made and the HOR as corrected must have been the actual home of the individual at the time of entry into the relevant period of service.  It may not be a place selected for the convenience of the soldier.

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.  Records available to the Board, and documents provided by the applicant confirm, that the FSM was born in Bay City.  However documents in his official military records, indicate that at the time of enlistment in the Regular Army he was residing in Traverse City, Michigan.  His records consistently reflect Traverse City as his home of record.  While the FSM may have lived in Bay City at some point, the desire for that city to memorialize him is not sufficient to conclude that an error occurred in the recording of his HOR at the time of his enlistment.  

2.  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 to show that there was an error or injustice in this case.

3.  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 __  __MKP __  __LE ___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001061682	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020507	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	112.01	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.