RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         22 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050005434


      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. Yvonne Foskey                 |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ted S. Kanamine               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert L. Duecaster           |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette B. McPherson         |     |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, correction of Item 16c (Date of
Entry)
and Item 30 (Remarks) of his 23 September 1971 separation document
(DD Form 214).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the wrong dates for his date of
entry into the Army and his service in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) are
entered on his separation document.  He also states that his total active
service dates are incorrect as a result of an erroneous entry in Item 30 of
the DD Form 214 that shows he was on excess leave for 12 days from 21 July
through 1 August 1970.  He states that the only leave he took while serving
in the RVN was for Rest and Recuperation (R&R) leave in Hawaii.  He claims
the correct total of active duty service is 3 years, 6 months, and 6 days.


3.  The applicant provides no documentation in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 23 September 1971.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 3 January 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 Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains an
Enlistment Contract (DD Form 4) that confirms he enlisted in the Regular
Army for a period of three years and entered active duty on 28 February
1969.

4.  The records also contain Headquarters, Armed Forces Examining and
Entrance Station (AFEES) Special Orders Number 41, dated 28 February 1969,
which show the applicant enlisted into the Regular Army and entered active
duty on 28 February 1969.
5.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows, in
Item 11 (Enlisted, Inducted, Reenlisted, Extended and/or Ordered to
Active Duty), that he entered active duty on 28 February 1969, and
Item 16 (Service Dates) confirms his basic active service date (BASD) was
established as 28 February 1969.

6.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) of the applicant’s DA Form 20 shows the
applicant arrived in the RVN on 6 August 1970 and was scheduled to depart
on 4 October 1971.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) contains an entry
showing the applicant was assigned to the 191st Aviation Company, RVN on 13
August 1970.  It further shows that he departed his unit in the RVN enroute
to the Continental United States (CONUS) on 9 September 1971.

7.  On 27 March 1971, the applicant submitted a request for a 60-day
Foreign Service Tour (FST) Extension (DA Form 2496-1).  His request to
extend his RVN tour was made in order to allow him to separate from the
Army upon his return to CONUS under the provisions of chapter 5, Army
Regulation 635-200, by reason of early separation of overseas returnee.  On
4 May 1971, the applicant’s FST extension was approved and his date
eligible to the return to the United States (DEROS) was adjusted from 5
August 1971 to 4 October 1971.

8.  On 23 September 1971, the applicant was honorably released from active
duty after completing 2 years, 6 months and 16 days of active military
service.  Item 22c (Foreign and/or Sea Service) of this document shows he
completed
1 year 1 month and 7 days of service in the RVN.  Item 26a (Non-Pay
Periods) contains an entry indicating the applicant was in a non-pay status
from 21 July through 1 August 1970, and Item 30 contains an entry
indicating the applicant accrued 12 days of excess leave from 21 July
through 1 August 1970.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-10 (Leave and Passes) paragraph 5-15 states, in
pertinent part, that excess leave is a nonchargeable absence granted to
Soldier's for emergencies, awaiting punitive discharge, pending
administrative discharge, being involuntarily separated, or unusual
circumstances as otherwise specified.  Excess leave is a no-pay status;
therefore, entitlement to pay and allowances and leave accrual stops on the
first day of excess leave.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that the date he entered active duty was
incorrect was carefully considered.  However, the evidence of record
confirms the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army and entered active duty
on 28 February 1969, as is correctly indicated in Item 17c of his DD Form
214.  Therefore, a change to the entry date would not be appropriate.

2.  The record also confirms the applicant arrived in the RVN on or about
6 August 1970, and that he departed his unit for movement back to the CONUS
on or about 9 September 1971, as verified by entries on his DA Form 20.
The RVN service entry in Item 30 shows he served in the RVN from 5 August
1970 through 12 September 1971.  Given the specific dates of his service
cannot be verified from the records and because the DD Form 214 entry is
more favorable to the applicant, a change would not be appropriate at this
time.

3.  The applicant's record is void of any evidence supporting the excess
leave entry in Item 30, or the time lost entry in Item 26a (Non-Pay Periods
Time Lost), which is based on the excess leave entry.  There is no
indication that the applicant was awaiting a punitive discharge or pending
administrative discharge, or that any other unusual circumstances existed
that supported his being placed in an excess leave status during his tour
in the RVN.  Therefore, it would serve the interest of justice and equity
to correct his DD Form 214 by deleting the excess leave entry in Item 30
and the time lost entry in Item 26a.

4.  Based on the deletion of the excess leave entry, it would also be
appropriate to correct the net service completed entered in Item 22a (Net
Service This Period).  Based on his entry date of 28 February 1969 and his
separation date of 23 September 1971, the applicant completed 2 years, 6
months and 26 days of active duty service during the period covered by the
DD Form 214.  As a result, this total should be reflected in Item 22a.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__TSK __  ___RLD _  __JBM__  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial 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 23
September 1971 DD Form 214 by deleting the current entry in Items 22a(1),
22a(3) and 22b; and replacing it with the entry “02  06  26”; by deleting
the excess leave entry in Item 30 and the time lost entry in Item 26a; and
by providing him a correction to his separation document that reflects
these changes.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
correction of his entry date into the Army, his RVN service dates, and his
active duty service dates beyond that granted in paragraph 1 above.




                                  _____Ted S. Kanamine ___
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050005434                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/12/22                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD,                                     |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1971/09/23                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR635-200 . . . . .                     |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Overseas returnee early separation      |
|BOARD DECISION          |Partial Grant                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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