BOARD DATE:	  13 June 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120021320 


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:

The applicant defers to counsel.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests reconsideration of the applicant's request for correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show he served on active duty from 4 January 1945 to 28 August 1946.

2.  Counsel states the applicant's spouse has written a letter in response to the recent denial of the applicant's request for correction of his records.

3.  Counsel provides a copy of the letter, dated 20 September 2012.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20120003287 on 14 August 2012.

2.  The applicant's complete 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 his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents available in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  A U.S. Army Transportation Corps (TC) Form 147 (Certificate of Discharge) shows the applicant's date of shipment as 12 April 1945 and date of discharge as 2 June 1945.

4.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he entered active duty on 12 April 1945 and he was honorably discharged on 2 June 1945.  He completed 1 month and 28 days of net active service.

	a.  Item 2 (Department, Component, and Branch) shows the entry:  "ARMY TRANSPORTATION CORP[S]."

	b.  Item 18 (Remarks) shows the statement:  "THIS DOCUMENT, ISSUED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF PUBLIC LAW 95-202 (38 USC 106 NOTE), ADMINISTRATIVELY ESTABLISHES ACTIVE DUTY FOR THE PURPOSES OF VETERANS ADMINISTRATION [VA] BENEFITS."

	c.  Item 25 (Separation Authority) shows the entry "PL 95-292, SECTION 401."

5.  A review of the available records failed to reveal an official record or document that shows the applicant had qualifying military service other than the period of service recorded on his DD Form 214.

6.  In support of the applicant's request for reconsideration, counsel provides a letter written by Mrs. M____ L____ B____, dated 20 September 2012.

	a.  She writes on behalf of the applicant (her 88-year old husband and former service member who is suffering from congestive heart failure, emphysema, and Barrett's disease) in an effort to obtain help in gaining financial aid for his assisted living arrangements.

	b.  She states the applicant was seafaring on two separate occasions, a trip to England and a trip to France.

	c.  She and the applicant know of veterans in the assisted living facility, some of whom never left the shores of America, who are receiving financial aid.

	d.  She writes, "We are saddened that his tour in the Merchant Marines during the end of World War II was deemed not deserving of his much needed help in his senior years."

	e.  She adds that she has been the applicant's wife for 64 years, she completed nurses training in the Cadet Nurse Corps in 1948, and she has not received any compensation or recognition.

7.  Title 38, U.S. Code, section 106, defined the conditions under which Merchant Marine service could be considered as qualifying for VA benefits and prescribed the procedure for determining eligibility.

8.  Public Law 95-202 provided that the service of any person in a group (e.g., Merchant Marine) which rendered service to the Armed Forces of the United States in a capacity considered civilian employment or contractual service at the time such service was rendered was to be considered active duty for the purposes of all laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

9.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army acting through the ABCMR.  The regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Counsel contends that the applicant's request for correction of his DD Form 214 to show he served on active duty from 4 January 1945 to 28 August 1946 should be reconsidered.

2.  The applicant's TC Form 147 and DD Form 214 show he served in the Merchant Marine from 12 April 1945 to 2 June 1945.

3.  There is no evidence in the available military service records that shows the applicant was credited with any other qualifying service.

4.  The regulations governing the Board's operation require that the separation document must be presumed to have been completed in accordance with applicable law and regulations unless the applicant can provide evidence to overcome that presumption.  In the absence of official documentary evidence to the contrary, the applicant's TC Form 147 and DD Form 214 are presumed to be accurate and correct.

5.  The sincerity of the applicant's spouse's comments is not in question.  However, her letter provides insufficient evidence on which to base correction of the applicant's DD Form 214.

6.  The ABCMR does not have the authority to grant requests for correction of records solely for the purpose of qualifying applicants for government or veterans' benefits or compensation.  Moreover, granting veterans' benefits by the VA is a decision exercised within the laws and policies of that agency.

7.  In view of all of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary 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:

1.  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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20120003287, dated 14 August 2012.

2.  The Board wants the applicant, his spouse, and all others to know the sacrifices he made in service to the United States during World War II are deeply appreciated.  The applicant, his spouse, and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service.



      __________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)                                         AR20120021320



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120021320



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