RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           December 16 2003   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090315

	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. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Member	
	Mr. John N. Slone		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that his record be corrected to show he initially entered the Army in May 1945.  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that sometime in April or May 1945, he was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.  He was then sent to Camp Atterbury for two or three weeks, and subsequently, to Fort Lewis, Washington for basic training.  He remained in basic training for eight to ten weeks and then moved on to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for medical corps training.  He states that he remembers that the war in Japan ended around the first week of August, and a week or so later he was given the choice of enlisting in the Regular Army (RA) for four years with the branch of service and area of assignment of his choice.  He enlisted and elected to serve in the infantry branch in Germany.  

3.  The applicant further states that he remained at Fort Sam Houston until November 1945.  He was then sent to the east coast and on to Germany in December 1945.  He concludes by stating that he is certain that his time at Camp Atterbury, Fort Lewis, and Fort Sam Houston, including travel time, would add up to show that he was inducted and entered active duty sometime in April or May 1945.  

4.  The applicant provides a copy of a 15 November 1949 separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) and a statement from a friend in support of his application.  

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error that occurred sometime in 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 11 March 2003.  

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  This case is being considered using the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 and the documents he provided.  

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 confirms that he enlisted and entered active duty as a member of the RA on 24 November 1945.  Item 37 (Total Length of Service) shows that the applicant completed 3 years, 11 months, and 22 days of active military service during his RA enlistment.  He served 1 month and 
2 days in the continental United States service and 3 years, 10 months, and 
20 days of foreign service.  

5.  Item 39 (Prior Service) of the applicant’s 15 November 1949 WD AGO Form 53-55 contains an entry that indicates the applicant had completed 3 months and 20 days of active duty service prior to his RA enlistment on 24 November 1945.  There are no records on file for this period of prior service.  The applicant authenticated this document with his signature in Item 56 (Signature of Person Being Separated).  

6.  The applicant provided a statement from a friend that indicates that he and the applicant have been close friends since 1939.  The statement also indicates that the applicant had already been inducted and entered active duty prior to his entering military service in early June 1945.  

7.  Technical Manual 12-235, which prescribed the policy and procedure 
for the preparation and distribution of separation documents during the 
period in question, and contained item by item entry instructions.  These instructions indicated that the dates entered in Item 23 (Date of Enlistment) and
Item 24 (Date Entered Active Duty) would be the date the individual enlisted and entered active duty on the period of service covered by the separation document. It also stipulated that any prior service performed by the individual would be entered in Item 39 (Prior Service).  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim that he performed additional active duty service that was not covered by his 15 November 1949 WD AGO Form 53-55 and the third party statement he provided in support of his application were carefully considered.  However, lacking any evidence documenting the dates of service in question, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support the requested relief. 

2.  The available evidence of record documents only that the applicant served on active duty in the RA for 3 years, 11 months, and 22 days, from 24 November 1945 through 15 November 1949, and that before this enlistment he had completed 3 months and 20 days of prior military service.  

3.  Further, the applicant authenticated the separation document that recorded his RA service on the date of his separation, 15 November 1949, thereby verifying that the information contained therein, to include the period of prior active duty service entered was correct at the time the document was prepared and issued. 

4.  There are no other documents or information on file that provides any information pertaining to the applicant’s induction or to any period of active military service performed prior to his RA enlistment on 24 November 1945.  While the veracity of the applicant’s claim that he initially entered active duty in April or May 1945 is not in question, lacking any official confirmation of this service, there is insufficient evidence to support changing the record as requested at this time. 

5.  The records show the applicant should have discovered the error or injustice now under consideration on 15 November 1949, the date of his separation from active duty.  Therefore, the time for him to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 14 November 1952.  However, the applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ___  GRANT RELIEF 

________  _______ ____    GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__SAC ___JS ___SLP         DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented and the merits of this case are insufficient to warrant the relief requested, and therefore, it would not be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year statute of limitations prescribed by law.  

		Samuel A. Crumpler
		  CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090315	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/12/DD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1949/11/15	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365 	
DISCHARGE REASON	ETS	
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	110.0100	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.