IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 8 November 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110010190
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 his WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) be corrected to show he served in Austria during World War II.
2. The applicant states:
a. he served in Innsbruck, Austria with the 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division. His WD AGO Form 100 only shows he served in France and Germany. While in Austria he rounded up 11 SS men after liberating a concentration camp and they were held for questioning but his records do not show anything about this event.
b. he was in a replacement depot in Zweibrucken, Germany where he picked up new recruits.
c. he was taken to an Army hospital after a bout of hay fever in Nancy, France. He received a 70 percent disability upon discharge which was reduced to 0 percent when he lived in Middletown, New York. He was discharged from Mason General Hospital in Babylon, New York after suffering a mental breakdown. He left Europe from Antwerp, Belgium and arrived in the United States on VJ and VE Day, during which time he heard that a huge bomb was dropped on Japan.
3. The applicant provides:
* Letter, dated 30 December 2010, from the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO
* Order for Archival Record Reproduction Services
* WD AGO Form 100
* Article in the Fighting 36th Historical Quarterly, dated Summer 2005
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation)
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 applicants 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 applicants 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. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 October 1944. He served in the European Theater of Operations from 18 March 1945 until August 1945. He was honorably discharged on
21 December 1945.
4. Item 13 (Title - Description - Related Civilian Occupation) of his WD AGO Form 100 states, among other information, he served as a radio operator in France and Germany with the 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division.
5. There is no evidence in the available records which shows he served in Austria.
6. The purpose of the WD AGO Form 100 was to assist World War II veterans in post-service employment, education, or any other endeavor by the service member. The form was prepared based on service personnel records and personal interview for a very specific purpose and was not intended as a replacement or substitute for the official records of the individuals service.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
Although the applicant contends he served in Austria during World War II, there is no evidence of record and he provided insufficient evidence to support this contention. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to amend his WD AGO Form 100.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__X_____ ___X___ ___X____ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
1. 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.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
_______ _ 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) AR20110010190
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110010190
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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