RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:       15 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004186


      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. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert L. Duecaster           |     |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, Report of
Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States, be corrected to
reflect the rank of sergeant.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his DD Form 214 should reflect
that he was discharged in the rank of sergeant and not corporal (Cpl).

3.  The applicant submitted a copy of his DD Form 214, a copy of his
honorable discharge certificate, a copy of two morning reports for Company
M, 5th Infantry Regiment, for the date 21 December 1953, and a copy of a
letter he received from the National Personnel Records Center, dated 10
November 1997, in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error or injustice that
occurred on 14 January 1954.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 22 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 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 were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from reconstructed records and from alternate sources.

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 30 January
1951.  Following completion of basic combat training, he completed the 3-
week basic airborne training course at the Infantry School, Fort Benning,
Georgia, and was awarded the Parachutist Badge.  He was assigned to the
Infantry branch for duty.

5.  The DA Form 1, Morning Report, dated 21 December 1953, the applicant
submitted in support of his request shows, in the Miscellaneous Changes
Assigned Personnel, in the Remarks Section, (in abbreviated form), [the
applicant's name] / Corporal / "Enlisted Member promoted to Grade of
Sergeant (temporary) per paragraph 21 Special Orders 301 Headquarters, 5th
Regiment, effective 18 December 1953."

6.  This same DA Form 1, in the Assigned Losses, in the Remarks Section,
shows (in abbreviated form), [the applicant] Corporal / "From duty to
released form assigned and reassigned to 8069th Assignment Unit (AU), Army
Post Office 973 per paragraph 1 Special Orders 301 Headquarters, 5th
Regiment."

7.  Item 3 (Grade – Rate – Rank and Date of Appointment), of the
applicant's DD Form 214 shows the entry, "Cpl (T) 15 SEP 53."  The
applicant authenticated the DD Form 214 in Item 48 (Signature of Person
Being Separated).

8.  On the date of his discharge, the applicant's honorable discharge
certificate was prepared showing he was discharged in the rank of corporal.

9.  The applicant was honorably discharged from active duty in the rank of
Corporal, on 14 January 1954, under the provisions of Service Regulation
(SR) 615-360-5 and Army Regulation (AR) 615-365, for the convenience of the
Government (PETS [prior to expiration term of service]).  On the date of
his discharge, the applicant had completed 2 years, 11 months, and 15 days
active military service.  His DD Form 214 shows that he received:  the
Korean Service Medal, with one bronze service star; the Combat Infantryman
Badge; and the Parachutist Badge.

10.  In the letter the applicant received from the NPRC, it stated that
searches of morning reports of Company M, 5th Infantry Regiment (RCT), for
the period 1 December 1953 thru 31 January 1954 located two remarks
pertaining to him.  One entry pertained to his promotion to the rank of
sergeant and the second one pertained to his release from the unit and his
reassignment to the 8069th AU.

11.  The letter also stated that, "Morning reports remarks from December
21, 1953 to January 31, 1954 for your unit were also searched, and we noted
that remarks during that period do not reflect the promotion that was
authorized you on December 18, 1953.  We suspect that your separation
document may also reflect the incorrect rank, prompting this request for
data, and have furnished DD Form 149, Application for Correction of
Military Record, should you wish to pursue correction of an error."
12.  AR 635-5 prescribes policies and procedures regarding separation
documents and entries, which are to be made in Item 3 (Grade, Rate or Rank)
of the DD Form 214.  This regulation provides that the rank, in which the
Soldier is serving, at the time of his separation, will be entered in this
item and an indication will be made whether the rank is permanent or
temporary.  The data for this item will be taken from the Soldier's
enlisted qualification record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Item 3, of the applicant's DD Form 214, shows the applicant was
promoted to the rank of corporal on 15 September 1953.

2.  Entries in the morning report show that the applicant was reassigned in
Special Orders 301, Paragraph 1 (emphasis added) published by the 5th RCT.
When these orders were published to reassign the applicant from the 5th
Infantry Regiment, he was a corporal.

3.  The applicant was promoted to the rank of Sergeant by Special Orders
301, Paragraph 21 (emphasis added), published by the 5th RCT, later on the
same date.  It is apparent that the reassignment orders were not amended or
the orders were amended but the amendment was not put into his personnel
records.  It is also apparent that the promotion was also not posted to the
applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) and the orders were
not filed in his service record.

4.  The letter the applicant received from the NPRC correctly states that
two remarks pertaining to him were found in searches of morning reports of
Company M, 5th Infantry Regiment (RCT), for the period 1 December 1953 thru
31 January 1954.  One entry pertained to his promotion to the rank of
sergeant and the second one pertained to his release from the unit and his
reassignment to the 8069th AU.

5.  The third paragraph in the letter incorrectly stated that they had
noted that remarks during that period did not reflect the promotion that
was authorized him with an effective date of 18 December 1953.  An entry
made in the morning report prepared on 21 December 1953 does show the
applicant's promotion.

6.  The search of morning reports for the unit for the period from 21
December 1953 to 31 January 1954 was also conducted.  It is apparent that
no other entry, and in particular one revoking the promotion or an entry
reducing or demoting the applicant to corporal, with a new date of rank,
was found.

7.  The above lack of further entries for the period cited supports the
likelihood that the applicant's promotion to sergeant was overlooked
administratively and was not recorded in his service records and on his DD
Form 214.  Had the applicant's promotion to sergeant been revoked, another
entry for this action would have appeared on a morning report subsequent to
the entry showing his promotion on 21 December 1953.  Also, had the
applicant been reduced or demoted, a morning report entry would also have
appeared in a morning report subsequent to 21 December 1953 and, in this
case, the applicant's date of rank to corporal would have been after 21
December 1953 but prior to his date of discharge, 14 January 1954.

BOARD VOTE:

_SK___  _JTM___  __RLD ___  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 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 correction Item 3, of the applicant's
DD Form 214, to show he was discharged in the temporary rank of sergeant
and with a date of rank of 18 December 1953.




                            _______Stanley Kelley_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004186                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051115                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  189  |110.0000                                |
|2.   302                |129.0000                                |
|3.   307                |129.0500                                |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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