Docket No: 10289-19            
Ref: Signature Date 
 
Dear :  
 
This is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552.  After careful and conscientious consideration of relevant portions of your naval record and your application, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied.     
 
Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 21 September 2020.  The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.  Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this Board.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your naval record, and applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 
 
You enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active duty service on 1 October 1951.  Your service record indicates that you were found physically unfit for service, and discharged on 27 October 1951, with a general under honorable discharge characterization. 
 
Your application to the Board was submitted by your spouse, and signed by you.  In your petition, you request that your general discharge characterization be upgrade to reflect an honorable discharge so that you are able to receive all benefits available to US military veterans to include USAA insurance coverage.  Your application notes that you are recognized by Veterans Affairs as a veteran, but that USAA has denied coverage due to your general vice honorable discharge.  Your spouse states that you were called to serve in our military despite having been in this country for only a brief period and without the fluency in English that you were later able to achieve.  You survived the Holocaust, were drafted into the Marine Corps, and trained at Camp Pendleton.  While in training, your drill sergeant noticed you were having trouble standing at attention for any prolonged period of time because of weakness caused by childhood polio.  Upon discovery, you were sent to the infirmary and subsequently discharged.   
 
The Board, in its review of your entire record and application, carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, including that you answered the call of duty to the United States Marine Corps shortly upon arriving in this country after surviving the Holocaust.  The Board noted the circumstances of your background and considered that your ability to meet the physical requirements was likely due to a pre-existing condition caused by a childhood illness.  The Board also noted that your general characterization of service is not an adverse discharge and that under similar circumstances today, the policy guidance is such that you would likely have received an uncharacterized discharge rather than a general discharge.  The Board found that even in consideration of the fact that the general discharge does not qualify you for certain benefits afforded by non-government entities such as USAA, that your service record with less than one month of duty in the Marine Corps supports your general discharge.  The Board concluded that your general discharge characterization does not reflect an error or injustice.  
 
It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken.  You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new matters, which will require you to complete and submit a new DD Form 149.  New matters are those not previously presented to or considered by the Board.  In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.  Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.   
 
Sincerely, 
 
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