BOARD DATE: 15 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001621 BOARD VOTE: ___x______ __x_____ ___x__ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 15 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001621 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show his date of enlistment and date of entry into active service as 14 April 1945. ___________x______________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. BOARD DATE: 15 June 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160001621 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant, the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) to show he enlisted and entered active duty service on 14 April 1945. 2. The applicant states her late husband's date of entry is shown as 1 January 1946, which is incorrect. She suggests that based on the pay data entry on the same form, one could work the time backward and conclude that he enlisted in 1945. 3. The applicant provides: * WD AGO Form 53-55 (copy filed with court in 1948) * chronological diary of the FSM's service with entries dated from 14 April 1945 to 7 January 1947 (1 page) * State of Tennessee Certificate of Death for the FSM, issued 29 October 2015 * letter from the National Personnel Records Center, dated 19 November 2015, with National Archives and Records Administration Form 13038 (Certification of Military Service) attached CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. 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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. A review of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows: a. an enlistment date and date of entry on active duty as 1 January 1946; b. a date of departure for overseas service as 7 October 1945; c. an arrival date in the Asiatic-Pacific theater of operations (APTO) as 23 October 1945; d. a departure date from the APTO as 6 November 1946; e. an arrival date in the United States as 18 November 1946; and f. a longevity for pay purposes calculation of 1 year, 8 months, and 25 days. 3. The FSM's chronological diary entries, as provided by the applicant, show the FSM: a. was at the induction center on 14 April 1945; b. was in basic training on 30 April 1945; c. was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, on 12 September 1945; d. was transferred to Fort Ord, California, on 20 September 1945; e. was at Camp Anza, California, on 27 September 1945; f. was overseas on 6 October 1945; and g. was at Fort Lewis, Washington, on 7 January 1947. REFERENCES: Department of the Army Technical Manual 12-235 (Enlisted Personnel Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms), in effect at the time, prescribed the procedures for preparation of separation certificates and the enlisted record and report of separation. It provided that items 22 through 42 of the WD AGO Form 53-55 were to record the Soldier's military history, to include dates of enlistment and entry into active service and dates of service outside of the continental United States. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant contends the FSM's dates of enlistment and entry into active service are incorrectly shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55. 2. A review of the data on the WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the FSM's: date of separation as 1947  01  07 longevity for pay as 1 year, 8 months and 25 days - 1  08  25 1945  04  12 add 1 day for inclusive dates + 1 calculated date of enlistment/entry into active service 1945  04  13 2. The FSM's dates of service outside of the continental United States shows he would have been in the APTO at the time of enlistment if he had done so on 1 January 1946. 3. Based on the above data, it appears that the dates of enlistment and entry into active duty are incorrect on the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55. The calculation above established a date of 13 April 1945, 1 day earlier than the FSM's indicated date of 14 April 1945 in his diary. However, it is reasonable to believe the FSM was in the best position to know the date he enlisted. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160001621 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160001621 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2