RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           18 January 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050013187


      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. Wanda L. Waller               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Shirley Powell                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Chester Damian                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Karmin Jenkins                |     |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 correction of service medical records to show
that he injured his right wrist instead of his left wrist.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he fell and hurt his right wrist while
serving in the Army; however, the Army medical records show he injured his
left wrist.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation); a WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification
Record); an Honorable Discharge Certificate; service medical records; two
1956 letters from his physician; a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
Rating Sheet, dated 3 August 1956; 1998 DVA documentation; and 1995 medical
records.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 20 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 21 April 2005; however, this application was received in this office
on 13 September 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 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.

4.  The applicant was inducted on 28 October 1942.  He served in the
Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from 16 July 1944 until approximately
13 January 1946.  On 20 January 1946, the applicant was honorably
discharged.

5.  A service medical record, dated 17 February 1944, shows the applicant
was diagnosed with a sprained left wrist.

6.  There is no contemporaneous medical evidence of record which shows the
applicant injured his right wrist.

7.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided two 1956 letters from
his physician which state, in pertinent part, "He presented a history of
sustaining an injury to his right wrist in 1943 or 1944 while in the army."
and "In his history and on re-evaluating his history, he has never
sustained an injury to his left wrist."

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant contends that he injured his right wrist,
contemporaneous medical evidence of record shows he sprained his left
wrist.  In the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary, it must be
presumed that the medical authorities at the time in question were correct
with their diagnosis.  Therefore, there is no basis to amend or otherwise
correct any of the service medical records to show the applicant injured
his right wrist.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 20 January 1946; therefore, the time for the
applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 1
January 1950 (3 years after the Board was established on 2 January 1947).
However, the applicant did not 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 failure to
timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

SP_____  __CD___  __KJ____  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.




            __Shirley Powell______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050013187                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060118                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |124.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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