IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 17 September 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150001708
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 first name shown on her DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States).
2. The applicant states her first name is misspelled on her DD Form 214. It should be Billy instead of Billie. This error prevents her burial in a veterans' cemetery. She is 83 years old and would like this to be corrected before her death.
3. The applicant provides:
* Certificate of Birth
* Marriage License
* Honorable Discharge (HD) Certificate
* DD Form 214
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 record is not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973. It is believed her records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using the documents she provides.
3. The DD Form 214 she provides shows she enlisted in the Regular Army on 28 October 1949 and served until she was honorably discharged on 17 January 1953. Item 1 (Last Name First Name Middle Name) shows her first name as "Billie." Item 43 (Signature of Person Being Separated) shows she signed her first name as "Billie."
4. The HD Certificate she provides shows her first name as "Billie."
5. She provides a Certificate of Birth and a Marriage License showing her first name as "Billy."
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request to correct the first name shown on his DD Form 214.
2. Although she provides a birth certificate confirming her first name is "Billy," her DD Form 214 shows she was discharged under the first name of "Billie." Furthermore, she signed her first name as "Billie" on her DD Form 214 at the time of her discharge. In the absence of evidence showing otherwise, it must be presumed she used the first name of "Billie" during the entire period that she served.
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. It is understandable the applicant desires to record his first name in his military records as it is shown on his Certification of Birth; however, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records at this late date.
4. This Record of Proceedings will be filed in her reconstructed military record maintained by NPRC. This will provide clarity and deal with any confusion that might arise regarding the difference in her first name. Filing the Board's decisional document will also guarantee the historical accuracy of the applicant's military record regarding the first name under which she served.
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) AR20150001708
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150001708
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