RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        10 March 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040001827


      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             |
|     |Mr. Robert J. McGowan             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces
of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to show
no lost time, and that his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) be
corrected by deleting any reference that he was a deserter.

2.  The applicant states that he was absent without leave (AWOL) for 9 days
and paid for it through nonjudicial punishment (NJP) under Article 15,
Uniform Code of Military Justice.  He adds that 9 days does not make him a
deserter.

3.  The applicant provides:

      a.  DD Form 214 with effective date of 22 March 1972.

      b.  DA Form 2627-1 (Record of Proceedings Under Article 15, UCMJ) for
being AWOL from 2 June 1971 through 12 June 1971.

      c.  Page 3 of his DA Form 20.

      d.  Self-authored statement, dated 29 April 2004, stating that while
home on leave, he was in an automobile accident and unable to get back to
his unit at Fort Meade, Maryland.  When he was released from the hospital,
he reported to Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

      e.  Three pictures of a wrecked automobile.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 22 March 1972.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 29 April 2004.

2.  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 allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 7 August
1969.  Following training as an engineer heavy equipment operator, he was
sent to Vietnam.  After his duty in Vietnam, he returned to the United
States and an assignment at Fort Meade.

4.  On 2 June 1971, the applicant's unit declared him AWOL.  On 30 June
1971, he was dropped from his unit's rolls as a deserter.  The unit
submitted DA Form 3545 (Deserter Wanted by The Armed Forces) on 28 July
1971 alerting law enforcement to apprehend the applicant.  The applicant's
DA Form 20 was annotated to show that he was "dropped from the [unit] rolls-
deserter."

5.  An entry on the applicant's DA Form 20 shows that he was in military
control at Fort Devens on 19 July 1971.  His DA Form 20 also shows that he
was AWOL and DFR (dropped from rolls) from 2 June 1971 through 18 July
1971.

6.  The applicant received NJP at Fort Devens on 10 September 1971 for
being AWOL from 2 June 1971 to a date in July 1971.  The through date has a
pen and ink change to 12 June 1971.

7.  Army Regulation 630-10 (Absence Without Leave, Desertion, and
Administration of Personnel Involved in Civilian Court Proceedings)
provides provides policies and procedures for reporting unauthorized
absentees and deserters.  It states, in pertinent part, that desertion is
an administrative classification used when a Soldier is dropped from the
rolls of his or her unit after being absent without authority for 30
consecutive days.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  It is clear the applicant was AWOL from his unit at Fort Meade on 2
June 1971 and never returned to that unit.  On 30 June 1971, he was dropped
from his unit's rolls and placed in an administrative classification as a
deserter.

2.  The applicant returned to military control at Fort Devens on an unknown
date. He received NJP for being AWOL from his unit at Fort Meade.  The DA
Form 2627-1 shows the period of AWOL as being from 2 June 1971 to XX July
1971, but the July date is inked through as 12 June, making the period of
AWOL 10 days.

3.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows that he has 10 days of lost time from
2-11 June 1971.

4.  There is nothing in the record to show that the applicant suffered an
automobile accident in June 1971 that made it impossible to report to his
unit.

5.  The term "deserter" as used in this case is an administrative term
denoting that the applicant was absent from his unit at Fort Meade for more
than 30 days. The term is appropriately used on the applicant's DA Form 20
and has no further relevance beyond signifying a 30-day (or longer) period
of AWOL.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 22 March 1972; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 21 March 1975.  However, the applicant did not file within the 3-
year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation
or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__js____  __le____  __cd____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.



                                        John Slone
                                  ______________________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040001827                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050310                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |100.0000                                |
|2.                      |110.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]