IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 7 April 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140014304
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 his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show the year of his birth as 1929 instead of 1928.
2. The applicant states a clerical error occurred when his DD Form 214 was issued.
3. The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 and DD Form 256A (Honorable Discharge Certificate), two copies of his State of North Carolina Certificate of Birth, and a U.S. Department of Commerce Seaman's Certificate of Identification.
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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 23 January 1952. He was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve on 29 December 1953. His DD Form 214 shows his year of birth as 1928.
4. Documents in the available record, including a pre-induction and separation Standard Form 88 (Report of Medical Examination), show his birth year as 1928. There is no evidence that indicates he listed the year of his birth as 1929 at any time during his period of active military service.
5. He provides two separate copies of his birth certificate that shows his year of birth as 1929. He also provides a copy of a U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (Seaman's Certificate of Identification) that lists his year of birth as 1928. Lastly, he provided his Honorable Discharge Certificate, which does not show his year of birth.
6. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. The regulation states the purpose of the separation document is to provide the individual with documentary evidence of his or her military service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. It is important that information entered on the form be complete and accurate, and that it reflects the conditions as they existed at the time of separation.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his year of birth as 1929 has been carefully considered.
2. The available evidence shows he listed his year of birth as 1928 throughout his entire period of active service. He did not use the year of birth that he requested at any time during his period of active military service.
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. While his desire to now record a different year of birth in his military records is understandable; however, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records. Therefore, there is no basis for granting his requested relief.
4. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document will be filed in his military records. This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the difference in the year of birth recorded in his military records and to satisfy his desire to have the birth year listed on his birth certificate documented in his military records.
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) AR20140011645
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140014304
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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