RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  24 April 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060014817 


	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.


x
	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 section 31 (Foreign Service) on his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) to show his foreign service in Korea. He also requests correction of item 18e (Total Service for Pay) on his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty) to show he completed 24 years, 2 months, and 28 days total service for pay.  In addition, he requests recalculation of his retirement pay to include Korea service and back pay to which he is entitled.  

2.  The applicant states that he was unaware that his record did not include his Korea service until he applied for the Korea Defense Service Medal.  He states that section 31 on his DA Form 20 is incorrect because it does not show his service in Korea.  

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 December 1974; his DA Form 20; his General Educational Development (GED) Tests, dated 17 November 1959; a letter from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, dated 24 August 2006; a letter from the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Military Awards Branch, Alexandria, Virginia, dated 5 July 2006; his DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214); his letter, dated 5 June 2006, to the Chief of Staff, Washington, DC; and a letter, dated 10 August 2005, from the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged errors which occurred on
31 December 1974.  The application submitted in this case is dated 9 October 2006.

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 was inducted into the Army on 1 October 1951.  He served in the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) from 8 November 1951 to 24 May 1952.  He was released from active duty on 18 November 1952 and was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 18 November 1952 which shows he completed a total of 1 year, 1 month, and 17 days of active military service this period.  

4.  He was transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps on 19 November 1952 and was discharged on 17 October 1954.  This is a period of 1 year, 10 months, and 28 days of inactive service.  

5.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 18 October 1954.  He served in the Canal Zone (Panama) from 1 November 1956 to around September 1957.  He was released from active duty on 13 September 1957 and was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 13 September 1957 which shows he completed 2 years, 10 months, and 24 days of active military service this period. 

6.  On 14 September 1957, he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).  He was released from the USAR on 15 December 1958 and completed a total of 1 year, 3 months, and 1 day inactive service this period.

7.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 December 1958.  His DA Form 20 erroneously shows he served in the Canal Zone (Panama) from 24 September 1959 to 11 October 1960.  The type tour code was “L”, indicating a no-dependent tour in Korea.  The applicant provides his GED Tests, dated 17 November 1959, issued by the U.S. Armed Forces Institute, Japan.

8.  He was discharged from active duty on 15 December 1961 and was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 15 December 1961 which shows he completed 3 years of active military service this period.  

9.  He reenlisted on 16 December 1961.  He was discharged on 15 December 1964 and was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 15 December 1964 which shows he completed 3 years of active military service this period.

10.  He reenlisted on 16 December 1964.  His DA Form 20 shows he served in Germany from 24 January 1965 to 27 December 1967 and in the Canal Zone (Panama) from 27 November 1968 to 13 May 1970.  He was discharged on 16 November 1970 and was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 16 November 1970 which shows he completed 5 years, 11 months, and 21 days of active military service.  

11.  He reenlisted on 17 November 1970.  His DA Form 20 shows he served in Vietnam from 10 January 1971 to 20 December 1971 and Germany from 26 May 1973 to 16 December 1974.  

12.  The applicant signed his DA Form 20 on 19 December 1972.  Section 31 on his DA Form 20 shows the entry “OS svc prior to 601011, 17 mos.”  His DA Form 20 also shows he served two tours in the Canal Zone (Panama), including the erroneously listed tour from 24 September 1959 to 11 October 1960, two tours in Germany, and one tour in Vietnam.

13.  He was retired from active duty on 31 December 1974 and was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 December 1974 which shows he completed 4 years, 1 month, and 14 days of active military service this period.  

14.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 December 1974 shows the block “Yes” is marked in item 19 (Indochina or Korea Service since August 5, 1964) with the dates 10 January 1971 to 20 December 1971.

15.  Item 18e on the applicant’s DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 December 1974 shows he completed a total of 23 years, 2 months, and 28 days of service for pay.

16.  He was issued a DD Form 215, dated 30 June 2006, which added the Korea Defense Service Medal to his DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 December 1974.  

17.  At the time, Army Regulation 600-200, chapter 9, prescribed instructions for preparing and maintaining the DA Form 20.  In pertinent part, it stated that the chapter was applicable to all enlisted personnel on active duty and all Army Reserve enlisted personnel assigned to U.S. Army Reserve troop program units.

18.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) governs the preparation of the DD Form 214.  It states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The DA Form 20 was prepared and maintained for Active Army and U.S. Army Reserve enlisted personnel.  As the applicant no longer has a military status, and he signed the DA Form 20 on 19 December 1972 with the error concerning his Korea tour on the form, the Board is reluctant to recommend that those records be changed.  The DD Form 214 is the document used to record the military history of a separated individual.  

2.  Guidance for preparation of the DD Form 214 at the time of his separation on 15 December 1961 did not require identification of overseas service.  Nevertheless, item 32 (Remarks) of this DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his service in Korea from 24 September 1959 to 11 October 1960.

3.  The applicant served on active duty and in the USAR continuously from 1 October 1951 to 31 December 1974, which is a period of 23 years, 2 months, and 28 days.  Therefore, item 18e on his DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 December 1974 properly reflects his total service for pay and there is no basis for recalculating his retirement pay.  

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or injustice now under consideration on 31 December 1974; therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 30 December 1977.  The applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations; however, based on the available evidence, it would be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

x_____  x_____x_____  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 item 32 on his DD Form 214 for the period ending 15 December 1961 to show the entry “Korea Service:  24 September 1959 to 11 October 1960.”

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 DA Form 20 
to show his service in Korea and correction of item 18e to show he completed 24 years, 2 months, and 28 days total service for pay.




x__________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060014817
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070424
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
GRANT PARTIAL
REVIEW AUTHORITY
Mr. Schwartz
ISSUES         1.
100.0000
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.