RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            2 September 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2004101821


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Walter T. Morrison            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Ronald J. Weaver              |     |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 separation document (DD
Form 214) be corrected to reflect his character of service as honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the Character of Service block of
his
7 February 1950 DD Form 214 contains the entry “Certificate of Service”
when it should in fact read honorable.  He claims a correction to the
characterization of his active duty service will allow him to receive the
veterans’ benefits to which he is entitled based on his honorable active
duty service.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of an Honorable Discharge Certificate in
support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 7 February 1950.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
13 November 2003.

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 limitation 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’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records that primarily consist of the
applicant’s DD Form 214 and the Honorable Discharge Certificate provided by
the applicant.

4.  The DD Form 214 provided by the applicant confirms that he was inducted
into the Army and entered active duty on 20 January 1949.  It further shows
that he attained the rank of corporal (CPL) on 19 January 1950 and that he
held that rank upon his release from active duty (REFRAD) on 7 February
1950.

5.  The applicant’s separation document further shows that on 7 February
1950, he was REFRAD by reason of convenience of the government and
transferred to the Army Reserve for a period of five years.  The DD Form
214 also shows that at the time of his REFRAD, he had completed 1 year and
18 days of active military service.

6.  The specific facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant’s
discharge processing are not on file and his DD Form 214 contains a
character of service entry that states “Certificate of Service”.

7.  The Honorable Discharge Certificate provided by the applicant indicates
he was inducted on 20 January 1949 and transferred to the Army Reserve on
8 February 1950.  It further shows that on 18 March 1954, he was honorably
discharged from the Army Reserve.

8.  Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents that must be
prepared for soldiers on retirement, discharge, release from active duty
service, or control of the Active Army.  It also establishes standardized
policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  Chapter 2 contains
guidance on the preparation of the DD Form 214.  The guidance provided for
the Character of Service block states, in pertinent part, that a correct
character of service entry is vital since it affects a soldiers'
eligibility for post-service benefits.  The regulation in effect at the
time of the applicant’s REFRAD provided for issuing a Certificate of
Service to members separated by reason of convenience of the government
with an honorable or under honorable conditions character of service.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim that his DD Form 214 should accurately reflect
his character of service as honorable was carefully considered and found to
have merit.

2.  The available evidence confirms the applicant was REFRAD for the
convenience of the government and ultimately honorably discharged from the
Army Reserve.

3.  Although the specific facts and circumstances surrounding the
applicant’s separation processing are not on file, the DD Form 214 on file
confirms the applicant was issued a Certificate of Service upon his
separation from active duty.  The regulation in effect at the time
authorized this certificate to be issued to members separated for the
convenience of the government with an honorable or under honorable
character of service.

4.  There is no evidence or indication of derogatory information or
misconduct that would have diminished the quality of the applicant’s
service below that meriting a fully honorable characterization of service.
The fact he was separated in the grade of corporal indicates he committed
no misconduct warranting a reduction in grade.  Further, he ultimately
received an honorable discharge from the Army Reserve.  Thus, it is logical
to conclude that his active duty service was characterized as honorable.
Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his separation document to
reflect his honorable character of service.

BOARD VOTE:

__WTM__  __WDP _  _RJW _ _  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by amending his 7 February 1950 DD Form
214 by deleting the current entry in the “Character of Separation” block
and replacing it with the entry “Honorable”; and by providing him a
corrected separation document that reflects this change.




            _WALTER T. MORRISON__
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004101821                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2004/09/DD                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1950/02/07                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |SR 615-363-5                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Convenience of the Government           |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  1021 |100.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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