IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 29 July 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080008101
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests that item 6 (Organization) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) be corrected to show the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he was never in the artillery. He contends that he was an engineer in the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion for most of his years in the service until he was transferred to an artillery unit for discharge.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55; pages 1 and 3 of general orders, dated 22 October 1945; an excerpt from an unidentified document concerning the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion; and a letter, dated 21 April 2008, from a Member of Congress.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. 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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicants failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted,
has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicants failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.
2. 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.
3. The applicant was inducted on 19 September 1942 and entered active duty on 3 October 1942. He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from
11 May 1943 through 9 December 1944 and was honorably discharged on
2 November 1945.
4. Item 6 on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was assigned to Battery B, 618th Field Artillery Observation Battalion.
5. In support of his claim, the applicant provided pages 1 and 3 of Headquarters, 205th Engineer Combat Battalion General Orders Number 4, dated 22 October 1945. On page 3 of these orders it shows the applicant was assigned to Company F, 250th Engineer Combat Battalion, 50th Engineer Combat Regiment.
6. The applicant provided an excerpt from an unidentified document which states that the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion was originally the 1st Battalion of the 50th Engineer Combat Regiment.
7. Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 12-235 (Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms) established the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) during World War II. This regulation states the last unit, or similar element, to which an individual was assigned, rather than the element of which he was a part while moving to a separation activity, will be entered in item 6 of the WD AGO Form 53-55.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The applicant provided general orders which show he was assigned to Company F, 205th Engineer Combat Battalion, 50th Engineer Combat Regiment two weeks prior to his discharge. He also provided an excerpt from a document that stated the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion was originally the 1st Battalion of the 50th Engineer Combat Regiment. It is reasonable to presume he was assigned to the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion as his last unit of assignment. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the 50th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
BOARD VOTE:
___xx___ __xx____ ____xx__ 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. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
a. deleting the entry in item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55; and
b. adding the entry, 50th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Infantry Division in item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55.
_______xxxx___________
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080008101
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080008101
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