IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 16 October 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120007538
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 deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of her late father's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Honorable Discharge) to show his first name as Hur***t vice Her***t and his year of birth as 1922 vice 1921.
2. The applicant states the name on the FSM's birth certificate is Hu***t and the year of birth is 1922.
3. The applicant provides in support of her request copies of the:
* FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55, dated 22 September 1945
* FSM's Certificate of birth dated/issued on 6 September 1939
* FSM's Certificate of Death that shows the applicant was his daughter and the informant
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSMs 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 FSMs records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, the WD AGO Form 53-55 and the evidence the applicant provided are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
2. The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the Army National Guard on 14 March 1940 and entered active duty on 1 April 1941. The FSM was honorably separated on 22 September 1945.
3. Item 1 (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name) of the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his first name as Her***t.
4. Item 10 (Date of Birth) of the FSM's WD AGO 53-55 shows the FSM's year of birth as 1921.
5. The applicant provided a copy of the FSM's birth certificate, issued on 6 September 1939, that shows his first name as "Hur***t" and his year of birth as 1922.
6. War Department Technical Manual 12-236 (Preparation of Separation Forms) and Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), currently in effect, prescribe the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. These regulations establish standardized policy for the preparation of the separation document. In pertinent part, they state the separation document is a synopsis of the Soldiers most recent period of continuous active service and provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends her late father's WD AGO Form 53-55 should be changed to reflect his name as Hur***t and year of birth as 1922.
2. It is understood that the applicant desires to have the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 corrected to show his first name and year of birth as they are listed on his birth certificate. However, the FSM's complete record is not available and the available evidence does not show he served using a name and date of birth other than those listed on his WD AGO Form 53-55. Therefore, there is an insufficient basis for granting the applicant's request.
3. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity 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. There is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Armys records at this late date.
4. This Record of Proceedings will be filed in his military record to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the difference in the name and year recorded on the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 and to satisfy the applicant's desire to have the first name and year of birth that are listed on his birth certificate documented in his record.
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) AR20120007538
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120007538
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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