BOARD DATE: 25 September 2014 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140002550 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 requests correction of item 9 (Date of Birth (DOB)) of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), ending on 21 December 1970, to correctly list his DOB as 1 April 19XX instead of 31 March 19XX. 2. The applicant states, in effect, he is providing a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in support of his request as evidence. He wants to ensure his military documents are accurate and correct for posterity. 3. The applicant provides copies of his 1970 DD Form 214 and a letter from the VA. 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 provide in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of the cases 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 sufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations. 2. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 9 February 1968. His records contain a DD Form 47 (Record of Induction), dated 9 February 1968, which lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX. 3. He was honorably discharged on 15 February 1968 for the purpose of immediate enlistment in the Regular Army (RA). Item 9 of his DD Form 214 lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX. 4. He enlisted in the RA on 16 February 1968. His records contain the following: * DD Form 4 (Enlistment Record – Armed Forces of the United States), dated 16 February 1968, which lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX * DD Form 398 (Statement of Personal History), dated 6 August 1968, which lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX * DA Form 41 (Record of Emergency Data), dated 2 September 1970, which lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX * DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), dated 13 October 1970, which lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX 5. On 21 December 1970, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement). Item 9 of his DD Form 214 lists his DOB as 31 March 19XX. 6. He provided a copy of a letter from the VA, dated 31 December 2013, wherein he was advised in response to his request his DOB had been changed from 31 March to 1 April 19XX in the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. 7. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, governed the preparation of the DD Form 214. It stated the DD Form 214 would be prepared for all personal at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty. The regulation stated item 9 would list the DOB verified in the Soldier's record. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. On 31 December 2013, the applicant was advised that his DOB had been changed from 31 March to 1 April 19XX in the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. Notwithstanding the letter from the VA, the evidence of record shows he was inducted into the AUS and enlisted in the RA using the DOB of 31 March 19XX. 2. There is no evidence in the available record and he did not provide sufficient evidence to show the DOB listed on his 1968 and 1970 DD Forms 214 was not the DOB he used at the time he served. Absent convincing independent and verifiable evidence to the contrary, it is presumed that his DD Forms 214 were correct at the time they were prepared. Therefore, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to grant him relief. 3. For historical purpose, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records. The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created. In the absence of showing a material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed. While it is understandable that he now desires to record the DOB he currently uses on his 1970 DD Form 214, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records at this late date. 4. A copy of this decisional document will be filed in his records to clarity the difference between the DOB he currently uses and the DOB he used during his active military service. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___X_____ __X______ ___X_ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _______ _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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140002550 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140002550 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1