IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 26 March 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080017668
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 1 (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name) of the 24 November 1945 WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge Certificate) issued to his deceased father, a former service member (FSM), be corrected.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that the middle initial of his father contained on the WD AGO Form 53-55 incorrectly shows his middle initial as "H" instead of "K" due to an administrative error.
3. The applicant provides the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55, death certificate, and his birth certificate in support of the 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 FSMs military record is not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973. It is believed that the FSMs records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, there were sufficient documents on file for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. This case is being considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consist of the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 and a WD Form 372A (Final Payment Work Sheet).
3. The FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 4 September 1942 and entered active duty on 18 September 1942. Item 1 shows his middle initial as "H." It also shows he held and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 766 (Radio Operator High Speed) and that the highest rank he attained while serving on active duty was private first class (PFC). It further confirms he served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO) from 2 September 1943 to
2 November 1945, and that he was assigned to the 707th Signal Aircraft Warning Company.
4. A Final Payment Worksheet contained in the FSM's NPRC file lists his middle initial as "K." This document also contains the FSM's signature, in which he used the letter "K" as his middle initial.
5. The applicant provides the FSM's Death Certificate which shows, in Item 1 (Name of Deceased), that his middle name begins with the letter "K"; and his own birth certificate which lists his father's name using the middle initial "K."
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The applicant's contention that the FSM's middle initial listed in Item 1 of the
WD AGO Form 53-55 is incorrect and should reflect the initial "K" was carefully considered and found to have merit. The available evidence clearly shows the correct middle initial of the FSM was "K," as evidenced by the name entry and his signature on his Final Payment Worksheet and the name listed on his Death Certificate. This is further verified by the name entry for the FSM on the applicant's birth certificate, which also reflects the middle initial "K." Therefore, it appears the middle initial "H" in Item 1 of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-5 was entered as a result of an administrative error in the preparation of the document, and it would be appropriate to correct Item 1 of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 to reflect the correct middle initial of "K" at this time.
BOARD VOTE:
___x____ ___x____ ___x____ 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 amending Item 1 of the FSM's 24 November 1945 WD AGO 53-55 by deleting the middle initial "H" and replacing it with the letter "K," and by providing the applicant a correction to the FSM's separation document that reflects this change.
_________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) AR20080017668
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080017668
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