IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	       26 AUGUST 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090004792 


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 29 (Home address at time of entry into service) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) be corrected.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the Indiana address in item 29 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 was entered in error.  He states that he had no connection with Indiana prior to meeting his wife, who was from Indiana, after he entered active duty.  He states the clerical error made in item 29 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 has caused him to be ineligible for a Wisconsin State property tax reimbursement for veterans who are 100 percent disabled.  He states that everything else on his discharge document and service records clearly show he was a resident of Wisconsin at the time of his entry into military service and that his address was Route 2, Box 44, Pewaukee, Wisconsin.  

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his application:  WD AGO Form 53-55 and Honorable Discharge Certificate, dated 27 November 1945; Birth Certificate; High School Diploma, dated 19 June 1942; Apprenticeship Employment Agreement, dated 2 July 1942; Veterans Service Officer Letter, dated 18 March 2009; State of Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Letters, dated 2 July and 15 December 2008; and a Congressional Inquiry Packet.


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 applicant’s 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 applicant’s 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 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 applicant's 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 a reconstructed record that consists of his WD AGO Form 53-55 and the documents he provides.  

3.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army and entered active duty, on 17 March 1943, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Item 9 (Permanent Mailing Address) lists his permanent address as RR 2 Box 44 Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and item 15 (Place of Birth) lists his birthplace as Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Item 25 (Place of Entry Into Service) also lists Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Item 29 (Home Address at Time of Entry Into Service) lists an address in Indianapolis, Indiana.   

4.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 29 October 1944 through 12 June 1945, and that he participated in the Ardennes and Rhineland campaigns of World War II, and that he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, World War II Victory Medal, American Theater Campaign Ribbon, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with 2 bronze battle stars, 1 Overseas Service Bar, and the Purple Heart which he received as a result of being wounded in action in Germany on 16 December 1944.  

5.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 further shows the applicant was honorably discharged, in the rank of corporal, on 27 November 1945, after completing a total of 2 years and 12 days of active military service. 

6.  The applicant provides a document titled Apprentice Indenture which was issued by the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin on 1 July 1942.  This document shows the applicant was accepted for employment as a machine draftsman and toll designer apprentice and that the apprentice term began on 
22 December 1941.  He also provides a diploma issued by the board of School Directors of the City of Milwaukee, on 19 June 1942, which shows he graduated from the mechanical drafting course of study at the Boys Trade and Technical High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Finally, he provides his birth certificate which shows he was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 22 December 1923.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that he was residing in Wisconsin when he entered the military was carefully considered and found to have merit.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 and the independent evidence he provides clearly show he was born in, graduated from high school in, and entered military service from Wisconsin.  

2.  In addition, the applicant's permanent mailing address on the WD AGO Form 53-55 is in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.  As a result, it is reasonable to presume that the address entered in item 29 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 was in fact entered as a result of an administrative error and was in fact the address of his wife, who resided in Indiana at the time, and was the address he planned to go to upon his discharge.  

3.  The documents provided by the applicant confirm he was born in Wisconsin on 22 December 1923, graduated from a high school in Wisconsin on 19 June 1942, and entered into an employment apprenticeship agreement in Wisconsin on 2 July 1942.  These facts coupled with the fact he entered the military from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 17 March 1943, clearly establish that he was residing in Wisconsin when he entered the military.  Therefore, it would be appropriate and serve the interest of equity and justice to correct item 29 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 accordingly.  

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 his WD AGO Form 53-55 by deleting the current entry in item 29 and replacing it with the entry "Route 2, Box 44, Pewaukee, Wisconsin"; and by providing him a correction to his WD AGO Form 53-55 that reflects this change. 




      _______ _   ___XXX____   ___
       	   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)                                         AR20090004116



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004792


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