IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 30 July 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140020844 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 1 (Last Name – First Name – Middle Name) of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his first and middle names as Thomas and Tibor instead of just the first name Tibor. 2. The applicant states his correct name is "Thomas Tibor Kxxxxx." He legally changed his name through the U.S. citizen naturalization process on 10 June 1963. 3. The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 and a Certificate of Naturalization. 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 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 insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations. 2. The applicant's military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 23 February 1960. His records contain the following which all list his first name as "Tibor" and do not list a middle name: * DD Form 4 (Enlistment Record – Armed Forces of the United States), dated 23 February 1960 * Acknowledgment of Service Obligation, dated 23 February 1960 * DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data), dated 23 February 1960 * DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) * DA Form 24 (Service Record), for the period 23 February 1960 through 25 February 1963 3. On 23 February 1963, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group. Item 1 of his DD Form 214 lists his first name as "Tibor" and does not list a middle name. 4. He provided a copy of a Certificate of Naturalization, dated 10 June 1963, which shows he became a naturalized citizen of the United States under the name "Thomas Tibor Kxxxxx." 5. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It established the standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It stated the DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier’s most recent period of continuous active duty. It provided a brief, clear-cut record of active duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. The regulation stated item 1 would list the last name, first name, and full middle name or names, if any. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant served in RA using the first name of "Tibor" and no middle name. He legally changed his first name and added a middle name in June 1963, after his period of active duty. There is no evidence of record and he did not provide sufficient evidence showing item 1 of his DD Form 214 contains an error involving his name. 2. Absent convincing independent and verifiable evidence to the contrary, it is presumed that his DD Form 214 was correct at the time it was prepared. Therefore, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to grant him relief. 3. For historical purposes, 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 first and middle names he currently uses on his DD Form 214, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records. 4. A copy of this decisional document will be filed in his records to clarify the difference between the current first and middle names and the first name he used during his period of active 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) AR20140020844 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140020844 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1