PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            17 JULY 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002081729

	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:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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 his October 2002 Certification of Military Service be corrected to show that his “last grade, rank, or rating” was as a corporal vice private.  In support of his request he submits a copy of his December 1960 honorable discharge certificate from the Army of the United States which indicates that he was discharged as a corporal from the United States Army Reserve.

3.  The applicant’s military personnel file was likely lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  In the Spring of 2002 the applicant submitted a request to the National Personnel Records Center requesting confirmation of his military service for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits.  In response to his request he was informed that his records were likely among those destroyed during the 1973 fire and provided him with a Certification of Military Service.  That certification document noted that he had served on active duty between 4 December 1952 and 8 December 1954 and that his “last grade, rank, or rating” was that of “private.”  There is no indication in available records which notes the source of the information utilized by the National Personnel Records Center to prepare the applicant Certification of Military Service.  However, the information does appear consistent with a form the applicant completed in response to a request by the National Personnel Records Center.  That form, however, does not indicate the applicant’s grade at the time of his separation in 1956.

4.  The applicant submited a copy of his December 1960 honorable discharge certificate which indicated that he was a corporal at the time he was discharged as a member of the United States Army Reserve.  There is no indication that the applicant actively participated in the United States Army Reserve after his release from active duty in 1956.  In order for the applicant to have been promoted to corporal in the United States Army Reserve he would have had to have actively participated in the Reserve as a member of a Troop Program Unit, or similar circumstance.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the evidence available to the Board does not confirm that the applicant was serving as a corporal at the time of his separation from active duty in 1954, it is reasonable, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to conclude that his 1960 discharge certificate more accurately reflected his grade than did his Certification of Military Service which was executed in October 2002 and appears to be based on information provided by the applicant to officials at the National Personnel Records Center.  The Board does note that the applicant would have had to actively participate in the United States Army Reserve in order to have been promoted to corporal after his separation from active duty.  Neither the evidence available to the Board, nor information provided by the applicant, indicates that was the case.  As such, the Board concludes, in the interest of justice and equity, that a new Certification of Military Service should be executed indicating that he was released from active duty in 1954 in the grade of corporal.

2.  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 showing that the individual concerned was released from active duty in 1954 in the grade of corporal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__JHL___  __RKS __  __JTM __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Joann H. Langston____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002081729	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030717	
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.