PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           20 JUNE 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002069642

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		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 that the records of his brother, a deceased former service member, be corrected to show that he entered active duty on 3 July 1945 vice 31 January 1946.  He states his brother is now deceased and that he would like to obtain a headstone from the VA with his brother's correct service dates.  The applicant notes that his brother's January 1947 separation document indicates that he received immunizations in August, September, and December 1945, although his separation document indicates he entered active duty in January 1946.  The applicant submits a December 1945 letter from his brother in which he (the brother) notes he arrived at Fort Devens, Massachusetts on 3 July 1945.

3.  The records of the former service member were lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.  Information contained herein was obtained from documents provided by the applicant and a copy of the former service member's pay voucher.

4.  The December 1945 letter from the former service member notes that he (the service member) wrote his brother that he "went to Fort Devens" on 3 July.  Although the letter is of poor quality, making it difficult to read, it appears to be a narrative of the former service member's first few months of military service.

5.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) indicates the former service member enlisted in the Regular Army and entered active duty on 31 January 1946 and that his "place of entry into service" was "Germany."  The separation document also indicates that the service member "enlisted in ETO [European Theater of Operations]" on 31 January 1946.  The 
21 December 1945 letter indicates the service member "got on this boat," (presumably enroute to the ETO) on 11 December and that at the time he wrote the letter, he was in the North Sea.  The former service member's payment voucher confirms he departed the United States on 11 December 1945.

6.  The service member remained overseas until 30 November 1946 when he returned to the United States.  He was honorably discharged on 21 January 1947.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Information available to the Board clearly indicates that the former service member was in Europe when he enlisted in the Regular Army on 31 January 1946.  The dates of the service member's immunization, information contained in the December 1945 letter, and information contained on the service member's payment voucher, supports a conclusion that the applicant had military service prior to the date.

2.  The Board is convinced, based on the fact that the former service member's statement regarding the date he "got on this boat" is consistent with the information contained in official records (payment voucher), that in all likelihood he was also correct regarding the date he reported Fort Devens, 3 July 1945.

3.  The Board concludes that it would be appropriate, and in the interest of justice, to confirm that the former service member entered active duty on 3 July 1945.  However, in view of the fact that it would be virtually impossible to reconstruct a separation document reflecting the service member's active duty between 3 July 1945 and his discharge on 30 January 1946 for the purpose of reenlistment, the Board concludes it would be more practical to merely issue a statement of service denoting this initial period of active service.

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 issuing a statement of service showing that the former service member initially entered active duty on 3 July 1945 and was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment on 30 January 1946.

BOARD VOTE:  

__RVO__  __RWA__  __JTM __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002069642	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020602	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	110.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.