BOARD DATE:	  31 March 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140012351 


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 the reason and authority for his separation shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Service) from Certificate of Disability for Discharge to something different. 

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  According to his WD Form 53-55, 1 November 1944, the reason for discharge is noted as “Certificate of Disability Army Regulation (AR) 615-361 and 1st Indorsement, Headquarters Wakeman Convalescent Hospital, Camp Atterbury, IN, dated 23 July 1945.”  He disagrees with the conclusion that the reason for discharge is accurate.  He reviewed AR 615-361 and concludes that it refers to one's mental condition.  He does not currently suffer from any mental conditions nor has he ever been diagnosed with such during his entire life.  During his tenure in the Army, he never had any Army personnel, medical or otherwise, even suggest that he had mental issues.  Prior to his enlistment in the Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC), he was diagnosed with spontaneous pneumathorax in September 1941.

	b.  He enlisted on 28 July 1942 while he was a student at North Texas State Teachers College in Denton, TX.  There were several specific requirements that he had to meet as a participant in the Army's ERC.  He met all of those requirements prior to his graduation and was called to Dallas, TX to receive a medical exam.  During that exam the attending doctors/examiners determined that he had scars inside his lungs and he failed the exam which denied his entrance into Officer Candidate School.  From that time forward he was sent to Camp Walters in Mineral Wells, TX, and placed on limited duty.  As he recalls, limited duty meant stateside duty.  He was then sent to Camp Wallace in Hitchcock, TX and went through Coast Artillery training.  During his time at Camp Wallace, he was placed in the 160th Army Band since he had a degree from North Texas State in Music. He remained in the Army Band for approximately 1 year before the unit was broken up and he was sent to Camp Rucker, AL, with the 288th Combat Engineer Battalion.  This unit was later sent somewhere in England.  Due to the local climate and conditions he was placed in the Army Hospital with pneumonia for approximately 1 month.  He was then sent to a Replacement Depot at Tidworth Barracks in England.  He was told his unit had suffered an 88% casualty during his stay in the hospital and therefore would not be rejoining that unit.  At that time he was placed in the infantry.  For some reason, he was pulled out of that unit and placed in a Headquarters Company of the Replacement Depot in service records.   

	c.  On Christmas Eve 1944, the unit was ordered into the field under severe weather conditions where once again the doctors sent him to the hospital with pneumonia even though he desired to remain with his current unit.  After approximately 10 days the hospital doctors told him that he was being sent back to the states and later home.  He arrived at Jackson General Army Hospital in Jackson, MS, and then was transferred to Camp Atterbury, IN, where he was honorably discharged.  As the Board can see from these accounts, there was never any mention of mental issues but rather several issues regarding his lungs and pneumonia.

	d.  He fully believes that the reason(s) for discharge as noted on his Honorable Discharge are incorrect and he has no knowledge as to how the particular conclusions were arrived at.  He does however have a vivid recall, as noted above, as to the facts of his Army service and the time spent during World War II.  It has troubled him for quite some time to think that the military had concluded that he had mental issues and as a result had decided not to contact the Veteran's Administration for any financial assistance or medical assistance. However, he has recently learned that there is an avenue to correct that which is wrong; namely, this process.   

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55.

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 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 remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the ERC on 28 July 1942 and he entered active duty on 7 May 1943 in Dallas, TX.  This documents also shows at the time of his separation he held military occupational specialty 060 (Cook) and his last unit was the 371st Reinforcement Company. 

4.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from 2 November 1944 to 8 March 1945.  He was honorably discharged on 26 July 1945, at Wakeman Convalescent Hospital, Camp Atterbury, IN.  Item 40 (Reason and Authority for Separation) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry “Certificate of Disability Discharge, AR 615-361 and 1st Indorsement, Headquarters Wakeman Convalescent Hospital, Camp Atterbury, IN, dated 23 July 1945.”

5.  The complete facts and circumstances of his discharge, including his service medical records, are not available for review with this case. 

6.  AR 615-361 (Discharge, Medical), in effect at the time, prescribed the criteria for the separation of enlisted men for physical/medical reasons.  It essentially stated enlisted personnel physically unfit for further effective service in the Army will be discharged in accordance with the provisions of AR 615-361 after maximum benefit from Army hospitalization has been obtained. 

7.  War Department Technical Manual 12-235 (Discharge and Release from Active Duty (Other than Separation Centers)) was published on 1 January 1945 to simplify the primary procedures in discharge or separation from active service, to clarify the procedure for discharge on certificate of disability discharge under AR 615-361, and to develop a standard method of effecting such discharge after maximum military hospitalization has been obtained. 
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence, consisting only of a WD AGO Form 53-55, shows the applicant served on active duty from 7 May 1943 to 26 July 1945.  He was discharged in July 1945 and issued a Certificate of Disability Discharge in accordance with AR 615-361. 

2.  In the absence of his complete facts and circumstances surrounding his discharge, including his medical records, separation physical examination, board of medical officers, and decision by the discharging authority, it is not possible to establish if the narrative reason for the applicant’s discharge is incorrect.  Furthermore, a Certificate of Disability Discharge does not only apply in cases of mental health issues as the applicant believes; it applied in cases of physical disabilities resulting from personal injury or disease contracted in line of duty.

3.  Regretfully, there is insufficient evidence available to grant the applicant 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 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)                                         AR20140012351





3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140012351



4


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1