IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 September 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080010083
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, in effect, that Item 6 (Organization) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge) with a date of separation of 24 May 1945 and his discharge certificate be corrected to read 100th Infantry Battalion, 34th Division instead of Depot Detachment Quartermaster Corps.
2. The applicant states, in effect, he was attached to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 34th Division and not Depot Detachment Quartermaster Corps and that his specialty was not quartermaster.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 and his Honorable Discharge Certificate in support of his application.
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 service records are not available 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. The only document available in this case is the WD AGO Form 53-55 provided by the applicant.
3. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted and entered active duty on 14 November 1941. He served in Algeria, North Africa from
2 September 1943 to 17 August 1944.
4. The applicant's combat decorations include the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart and he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge.
5. On 24 May 1945, the applicant was released from active duty. Item 6 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "Depot Det QMC APO 957." (Depot Detachment, Quartermaster Corps). The applicant's Honorable Discharge Certificate shows his unit of assignment as Depot Detachment Quartermaster Corps.
6. Technical Manual 12-235 (Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms), in effect at the time, provides in paragraph 24, that item 6 of the WD AGO Form 53-55, Organization, be completed as follows: Enter the last unit, or similar element to which he was assigned, rather than the element of which he was a part while moving to a separation activity. Assignments to units for purpose of transfer from a theater to the United States are considered part of the movement to a separation activity.
7. Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends he was assigned to the 100th Infantry Battalion,
34th Division.
2. The regulation provides for the entry of the last unit to which the Soldier was assigned in Item 6 of the WD AGO 53-55 rather the unit to which he was assigned for the purpose of separation. However, due to the loss of his records in the 1973 fire in St. Louis there are no official documents to show the applicant's last unit he was assigned to prior to his transfer for separation.
3. The applicant has not submitted any evidence that shows he was assigned to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 34th Division.
4. In view of the above, there is insufficient evidence on which to base a correction to the applicant's records.
5. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy that requirement.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
____X____ ____X____ ____X____ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
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.
_______ _ _X_____ ___
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) AR20080010083
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080010083
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