RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            22 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004145


      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             |
|     |Ms. Lisa O. Guion                 |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Thomas A. Pagan               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric N. Anderson              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Joe R. Schroeder              |     |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 Item 24 (Date of Entry into
Active Service) of his separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) be
corrected.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was drafted into the Army on
18 April 1944 and his separation document incorrectly shows that he entered
active duty on 6 November 1945.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his separation document in support of
his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 2 November 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 10 March 2005.

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'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 (NPRC) in 1973.  It is believed
his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  This case is being
considered using a reconstructed record that primarily consists of the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 and a
WD AGO Form 372A (Final Payment Worksheet).

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he entered active duty on
6 November 1945, and that he continuously served on active duty until
2 November 1946.  The separation document shows, in Item 39 (Prior
Service), that he previously completed 1 year, 6 months, and 18 days of
prior active duty service from 18 April 1944 to 5 November 1945.  The
reconstructed record does not contain a WD AGO Form 53-55 for this prior
period of active duty service.

5.  Item 43 (Longevity for Pay Purposes) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 shows
that the applicant completed 2 years, 6 months, and 9 days for purpose of
pay.  Item 55 (Remarks) includes an entry that shows that the applicant
accrued 5 days of time lost.

6.  The reconstructed record also contains a WD AGO Form 372A that confirms
that the applicant was honorably discharged from the Army of the United
States under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365, for the purpose of
reenlisting in November 1945.

7.  Technical Manual 12-235, prescribed the policy and procedure for the
preparation and distribution of separation documents during the period in
question contains instructions for the preparation of the WD AGO Form 53-55
at the time of the applicant’s discharge.  The instructions for Item 24
indicated that the entry was self-explanatory, which meant that the date
that the member entered active duty service for the period covered by that
separation document would be entered.  A member's prior active duty service
was required to be entered in Item 39 of the separation document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's reconstructed record contains one separation document
that covers the period 6 November 1945 to 2 November 1946.  Item 39 of this
document also shows the applicant completed 1 year, 6 months, and 18 days
prior active duty service from 18 April 1944 to 5 November 1946.  This
corroborates the applicant's claim that he initially entered active duty on
18 April 1944.

2.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 accurately shows he initially entered
active duty on 18 April 1944, and it documents his total active federal
service.  In addition, Item 43 of the separation document shows he
completed a total of
2 years, 6 months, and 9 days of active duty service, which accounts for
all his active duty service from 18 April 1944 through 2 November 1946, the
date of his final separation, minus the 5 days of lost time he accrued.  As
a result, the
WD AGO Form 53-55 in question is correct.

3.  The applicant is advised that because his initial entry date of 18
April 1944 is adequately documented in Item 43 of his 2 November 1946 WD
AGO Form 53-55, he should suffer no injustice based on the 6 November 1945
entry date contained in Item 24.  Further, given the absence of any
military records, it would be impossible to reconstruct and issue a
replacement separation document for his active duty service during the
period 18 April 1944 through 2 November 1945. As a result, the Board is
unable to provide any effective relief on this issue.
4.  The applicant should have discovered the alleged error or injustice now
under consideration on 2 November 1946, the date of his discharge.
Therefore, based on the date the Board was established, 2 January 1947, the
time for him to file
a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January
1950.  He failed to 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 his failure to file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___TAP__  ___ENA _  __JRS__  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.




            ____Thomas A. Pagan_____
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004145                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |NA                                      |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/11/22                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1946/11/02                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Convenience of the Government           |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |110.0100                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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