BOARD DATE:	  28 October 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140004924 


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 item 1 (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name) of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer of Discharge) to show the first and middle names of "Walter and Ronald" instead of "Ronald and Walter."

2.  The applicant states his birth record shows his full name is "Walter Ronald Gxxxxxxx."  The error was noticed on his DD Form 214 when he obtained his birth certificate.

3.  The applicant provides copies of the following:

* DD Form 214
* birth certificate
* driver license

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 provide in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of the cases 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 sufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations.

2.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 10 August 1970.  His records contain the following:

* DD Form 47 (Record of Induction), dated 10 August 1970, which lists his first and middle names as "Ronald and Walkter"
* U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) Form 180-R (Acknowledgment of Service Obligation), dated 10 August 1970, which lists his first and middle names as "Ronald and Walker"
* DD Form 398 (Statement of Personal History), dated 18 February 1971, which lists his first and middle names as "Ronald and Walter"; he authenticated this form with his signature using "Ronald" as his first name and the initial "W" for his middle name
* DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), dated 3 March 1971, which lists his first name as "Ronald" and the initial "W" for his middle name
* DA Form 41 (Record of Emergency Data), dated 3 November 1971, wherein he signed his name by listing his first and middle names as "Ronald and "Walker"

3.  He was released from active duty on 9 March 1972 and was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).  Item 1 of his DD Form 214 lists the first and middle names of "Ronald and Walter."

4.  Orders Number 07-1146943, issued by the Reserve Components Personnel and Administration Center, on 28 July 1976, discharged him from the USAR on 9 August 1976.  The orders list his first name as "Ronald" and the initial "W" for his middle name.

5.  He provided copies of the following:

* State of Maryland birth certificate, filed on 12 September 1950, which identifies an individual with the first and middle names of "Walter and Ronald" and the same last name of record as the applicant
* driver license which lists his first and middle names as "Walter and Ronald"

6.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, governed the preparation of the DD Form 214.  It stated the DD Form 214 would be prepared for all personal at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty.  The regulation stated item 1 would list the last name, first name, and full middle name or names, if any.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding what appears to be a typographical error of the spelling of his middle name on the DD Form 47 and USAREC Form 180-R, the applicant served in the AUS and USAR using the first and middle names of "Ronald and Walter."  There is no evidence of record and he did not provide sufficient evidence to show the first and middle names listed on his DD Form 214 were not in the order in which he used his first and middle names at the time.  

2.  Absent convincing independent and verifiable evidence to the contrary, it is presumed that his DD Form 214 was correct at the time it was prepared.  Therefore, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to grant him relief.

3.  For historical purpose, 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 showing a material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed.  While it is understandable that he now desires to record the reverse order of his first and middle names shown on his DD Form 214, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records at this late date.

4.  A copy of this decisional document will be filed in his records to clarity the difference between the current order of his first and middles names and the order of those names during his periods of service in the AUS and USAR.

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)                                         AR20140004924





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140004924



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