BOARD DATE:	  19 April 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110019510 


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, the daughter of a former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM's military service records to show his date of birth (DOB) as 21 April 1922.

2.  The applicant states the FSM's parents told him his DOB was 2 July 1922 and that is the DOB the FSM used when he enlisted in the Army.  However, his birth certificate shows his DOB as 21 April 1922.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a Durable Power of Attorney, dated 5 February 1999; Incapacitation Statement, dated 13 September 2010; the FSM's birth certificate; and his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge).

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 FSM's complete military service 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 FSM'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 FSM's available military service records do not contain a copy of his enlistment document.

4.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 40 (Certificate of Disability for Discharge) shows the FSM entered active service on 19 October 1942.  On 11 May 1945, he was determined to be unfit for duty based on permanent disability due to enemy action.  He was discharged on 23 March 1947.

5.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) shows the FSM was honorably discharged on 23 March 1947.  Item 8 (DOB) shows his DOB as 2 July 1922.

6.  The FSM's WDAGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the Army of the United States (AUS) on 19 October 1942 and he was honorably discharged with a certificate of disability on 23 March 1947.

	a.  Item 10 (DOB) shows his DOB as 2 July 1922.

	b.  The FSM placed his signature on the separation document.

7.  The applicant provides the following documents.

	a.  A Durable Power of Attorney appoints the applicant as the FSM's attorney to act on his behalf in this matter and an Incapacitation Statement shows a medical doctor declared the FSM as incapacitated on 13 September 2010.

	b.  A Minnesota Department of Health Division of Birth and Death Records and Vital Statistics Certificate of Birth issued on 12 September 1941 shows the FSM was born on 21 April 1922.  It also shows the birth was reported on 25 April 1922 and the certificate was officially filed on 28 April 1922.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that the FSM's military service records should be corrected to show his DOB as 21 April 1922 because the FSM used an incorrect DOB based on information his parents gave him.

2.  The birth certificate the applicant provides shows the FSM's DOB as 21 April 1922.  It also shows the certificate was issued on 12 September 1941 which was approximately 1 year before the FSM enlisted in the AUS.

3.  Records show the FSM enlisted in the AUS on 19 October 1942.  At the time he was 20 years of age.

4.  Records show the FSM's DOB was recorded in his official military service records as 2 July 1922.

5.  Given the FSM's age at the time of his enlistment and the then recent reissuance of the FSM's birth certificate, it is unlikely the FSM did not know his DOB.  Nonetheless, for reasons that are not fully known, the FSM chose to report his DOB as 2 July 1922.

6.  Considering all the evidence and information presented by the applicant together with the evidence of record, applicable law, and regulations, the document provided by the applicant is insufficient to warrant a change to the FSM's DOB in his military service records.

7.  For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the accuracy of its records.  The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created.  In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed.  While it is understandable the applicant desires to now record the FSM's correct DOB in his military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records at this late date.

8.  The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document which confirms the FSM's correct DOB will be filed in his reconstructed record.  This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the difference in the DOB recorded in the FSM's military record and to satisfy the desire to have the FSM's correct DOB documented in the FSM's official record.

9.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the requested relief.

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 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)                                         AR20110019510



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110019510



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