RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        4 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040011574


      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. John J. Wendland, Jr.         |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Mark D. Manning               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry C. Bergquist            |     |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 the rank on his Certification
of Military Service be corrected.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that at the time of his discharge he
held the rank of corporal/pay grade E-4; however, the discharge document
that was issued incorrectly shows his rank as Private First Class.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his NA Form 13038 (Certification of
Military Service), dated 18 November 2004; a DD Form titled Certificate of
Service Armed Forces of the United States; and DD Form 2A (Reserve
Identification Card).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 18 November 2004, the date that the National Personnel Records
Center (NPRC) reissued his NA Form 13038.  The application submitted in
this case is undated, but was received by the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records on 21 December 2004.

2.  The applicant's military service records contain a Standard Form 180
(Request Pertaining To Military Records), dated 13 August 2004, which shows
the applicant applied to the NPRC for a full copy of his Report of
Separation.

3.  The NPRC issued a letter in response to the applicant's request, dated
15 September 2004, informing him that his record is not in their files and
that it may have been destroyed in the fire that the NPRC suffered on 12
July 1973.  In their letter, the NPRC explained that there are alternate
record sources that often contain information which can be used to
reconstruct service record data lost in the fire; however, complete records
cannot be reconstructed.  The NPRC also issued the applicant a NA Form
13038 (undated), verifying the applicant's military service.

4.  The NA Form 13038 issued by the NPRC shows that the applicant was a
member of the Regular Army, from 27 November 1950 to 27 August 1952, his
Service was terminated by Honorable Discharge, and the last rank he held
was Private First Class.



5.  On 5 October 2004, the applicant's spouse wrote a letter to the NPRC
acknowledging receipt of the NA Form 13038.  The letter indicated that the
document was correct, with the exception of the applicant's rank.
Specifically, that the applicant was a corporal at the time of discharge,
but the document shows the applicant's rank as private first class.  The
applicant also affixed his signature to the letter to NPRC.

6.  On 18 November 2004, the NPRC reissued the applicant a NA Form 13038,
which shows that he was a member of the Army of the United States, from
27 November 1950 to 27 August 1952, his Service was terminated by Honorable
Release from Active Duty, and the last rank he held was Private First
Class.

7.  There is no evidence in the available service records which shows the
applicant held the rank of corporal.

8.  The applicant provides a copy of NA Form 13038, dated 18 November 2004,
a DD Form titled Certificate of Service Armed Forces of the United States,
and a DD Form 2A.

9.  The copy of the DD Form titled, "Certificate of Service Armed Forces of
the United States" reads, "This Is To Certify That Cpl JXXXX A HXXXXX USXX
XXX XXX Honorably Served On Active Duty in the Army of the United States".
The reverse side of this document shows, "Period of Active Duty From 27 Nov
50 To
27 Aug 52."  The document is signed by both the applicant and certifying
officer.

10.  The copy of the DD Form 2A shows that the applicant was issued his
Reserve Identification Card on 27 August 1952, and the block on the
document for "Grade" contains the entry "Cpl".  This document was also
signed by both the applicant and the issuing officer.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that the rank on his Certification of Military
Service is incorrect.

2.  The applicant contends, in effect, that the Certification of Military
Service that the NPRC recently issued does not show the correct rank that
he held at the time he was honorably released from active duty.  The
document shows the rank of private first class; however, the applicant
contends the document should show his rank as corporal.


3.  The NPRC acknowledges in both of their letters to the applicant (dated
15 September 2004 and 18 November 2004) that, "Fortunately, there are
alternate record sources that often contain information which can be used
to reconstruct service record data lost in the fire; however, complete
records cannot be reconstructed.”

4.  The NPRC issued the applicant a NA Form 13038 based on information
gathered from alternate sources.  The NPRC subsequently reissued the
applicant another NA Form 13038 to correct information that was in error on
the original document.

5.  The applicant provides two alternate record sources that contain
information related to his rank at the time of his release from active
duty.  Both of these documents show that the applicant held the rank of
corporal on the date of his release from active duty.  Additionally, these
documents show that they were certified by the issuing official at that
time.

6.  The NPRC acknowledges the use of alternate record sources that contain
information which can be used to reconstruct service record data lost in
the fire.  In this case, the applicant has provided two alternate record
sources as evidence to support his claim.  Therefore, the applicant is
entitled to correction of his records to show that, at the time of his
release from active duty, the last rank that he held was that of
corporal/pay grade E-4.

7.  The applicant is advised to complete and forward the enclosed Standard
Form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records), along with a copy of
this Record of Proceedings, to the National Personnel Records Center,
Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO  63132-5100, in
order to obtain a corrected document which provides certification of his
military service.

BOARD VOTE:

__MDM__  __LCB__  ___CD___  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION



BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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 and
an appropriate document be issued showing that, at the time of his release
from active duty, the last rank held by the applicant was that of
corporal/pay
grade E-4.




                                  _____Mark D.Manning_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040011574                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051004                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19520827                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Release From Active Duty                |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |129.0400.0000                           |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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