RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           DECEMBER 2, 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091244

	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. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Mr. Patrick H. McGann, Jr.		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 that his date of enlistment and date of entry into active service on his December 1949 WD AGO Form 53-280 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Certificate of Service) be corrected.

2.  The applicant states that his WD AGO Form 53-280 is incorrect.  He enlisted and entered on active duty on 29 December 1948, not 29 December 1949 as indicated on that form.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-280.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred in December 1949.  The application submitted in this case is dated 5 November 2002.  

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 were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  The only pertinent information available is the applicant's December 1949 WD AGO Form 53-280.  

4.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-280 shows that he enlisted in the Army on 29 December 1949 and entered into active service that same date; however, that form also shows that he had a smallpox immunization on 11 January 1949 and a typhoid and a tetanus immunization on 24 February 1949.  It shows that his date of rank as a private first class was 15 June 1949.  That form indicates that the total length of his service was 11 months and 23 days and that he was separated in December 1949 (the date of his separation is unclear).       

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

The applicant's 29 December 1949 date of enlistment and date of entry into active service is obviously erroneous, because of his immunization dates, his date of rank, and his total length of service.  The applicant's contention is therefore accepted.  His date of enlistment and date of entry into active service was 29 December 1948.     

BOARD VOTE:

__FNE __  __MHM _  __PHM__  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing that the date of his enlistment and date of his entry into active service was 29 December 1948, not the 29 December 1949 date shown on his December 1949 WD AGO Form 53-280.

		____Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091244	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20031202	
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.	112.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.