PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           16 September 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003088114

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred M. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Ms. Karen A. Heinz		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 his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) be corrected to reflect his correct date of birth (DOB) and that his specialty be changed from cook to artilleryman.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his report of separation incorrectly reflects his DOB as 20 May 1920, when in fact it is 13 May 1920.  He further states that he served as an artilleryman during World War II and only spent 1 week as a cook.  Accordingly, he desires to have his specialty changed to that of an artilleryman.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his birth certificate and his WD AGO Form 53-55.

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which destroyed millions of service records.  Information obtained from his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 7 November 1941 and departed for the European Theater of Operation (ETO) on 20 October 1943.  He served in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns.

5.  He returned to the Continental United States on 13 October 1945 and was honorably discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, in the rank of private first class, on 18 October 1945.  He had served 3 years, 11 months and 12 days of total active service and had 8 days of lost time.  At the time of his discharge, his WD AGO Form 53-55 was prepared to reflect that his DOB was 20 May 1920 and that his military occupational specialty (MOS) was that of a cook.  In item 4 of that form it lists his branch of service as field artillery (FA) and in item 6, it shows that he served with the 16th Armored Division.  The applicant authenticated that form with his signature and thumb print at the time of separation.

6.  A review of the birth certificate provided by the applicant shows that the applicant was born on 13 May 1920.  This information was officially recorded from the family register and became a matter of official record on 18 June 1962.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence submitted by the applicant in the form of a birth certificate establishes that his DOB is 13 May 1920, vice the DOB of 20 May 1920 that is currently reflected on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  Accordingly, the Board finds that it would be in the interest of justice to correct this error at this time. 

2.  However, there is insufficient evidence available to substantiate his claim that he served as an artilleryman instead of a cook.  While his report of separation does indicate that his branch was FA, his MOS is listed as a cook and he authenticated that information at the time of separation.
3.  Therefore, absent information to substantiate his claim that his MOS was that of an artilleryman, the Board has no basis to change his MOS.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the DOB of the individual concerned is 13 May 1920 instead of 20 May 1920, as currently reflected on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

___fe ___  ___kh___  __mm___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003088114	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2003/09/16	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  6	100.0500/MOS	
2.  9	100.0800/DOB	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.