IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 30 May 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120020653
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 correction of her WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) to show her date of birth (DOB) as 12 November 1920 instead of 13 November 1920.
2. The applicant states her birth certificate shows her DOB as 12 November 1920. She needs her DOB corrected in order to receive benefits.
3. The applicant provides:
* WD AGO Form 53-55
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* Honorable Discharge Certificate
* Special 6-Week Medical and Surgical Technician Course Certificate
* birth certificate
* marriage certificate
* driver's license
* social security card
* four medical identification cards
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 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 applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, there were sufficient documents provided by the applicant for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
3. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps on 5 March 1945 and she entered active on 22 March 1945. A copy of the applicant's enlistment contract is not available for review with this case.
4. The applicant's records also show she completed 9 months and 7 days of continental service. She was honorably discharged at Fort Sheridan, IL, on 28 December 1945. Item 10 (DOB) of her WD AGO Form 53-55 shows she was born on 13 November 1920.
5. The applicant's WD AGO Form 100 also shows her DOB as 13 November 1920.
6. The applicant submitted copies of her birth certificate and driver's license which show her DOB as 12 November 1920.
7. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), currently in effect, prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It establishes standardized policy for preparation of the separation document and states the separation document is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It 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's record is void of her enlistment document that shows the DOB she recorded upon her entry into military service.
2. 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. While it is understandable the applicant desires to now record the requested DOB in her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records at this late date.
3. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document will be filed in her Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) (formerly known as the Official Military Personnel File). This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the DOB recorded in her military records and to satisfy her desire to have her requested DOB documented in her AMHRR.
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) AR20120020653
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120020653
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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