DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                        BCMR Docket No. 2005-170 
 
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
AUTHOR:  Andrews, J. 
 
 
This is a proceeding under the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and section 
425 of title 14 of the United States Code.  The Chair docketed this case on September 23, 
2005, upon receipt of the applicant’s completed application and military records. 
 
 
members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated  July  13,  2006,  is  signed  by  the  three  duly  appointed 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The applicant asked the Board to correct his record to show that he did not have 
petit mal seizures while serving in the Coast Guard Reserve during World War II.  He 
alleged that he “was not aware of the diagnosis until 2004” and that “I did not then nor 
do  I  now  suffer  from  seizures  of  any  kind.    I  have  been  thoroughly  checked  by  [the 
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)] and none of them agree with the original diag-
nosis.” 
 

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICANT’S RECORD 

 

On December 22, 1941, the applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard.  He became a 
motor machinist’s mate.  His record shows that he served overseas and performed sea 
service  for  1  year,  4  months,  and  18  days,  including  “under  combat  conditions  and 
enemy fire.” 

 
On June 22, 1945, while at a discharge center in Cleveland, Ohio, the applicant 
was  admitted  to  a  U.S.  Marine  Hospital  for  inpatient  treatment.    His  transfer  orders 
indicate  that  his  diagnosis  was  “pending.”    A  doctor’s  medical  certificate  indicates 
“Question hysteria, Question epilepsy.” 

 
 
 
 
On July 16, 1945, a Medical Board of Survey consisting of two doctors at the hos-

pital issued the following report with a diagnosis of “petit mal”: 

 
In June 1944, after being in the invasion of Guam, [the applicant] felt very nervous and 
began to have blurring vision for several minutes.  Since that time, he has had frequent 
episodes of blurring or “Blanking out” of vision.  Has slight headaches which accompa-
nies these episodes.  Has had no fits or convulsions.  Is easily irritated and becomes upset 
on slight nervous tension. … [Lab results normal.] 
 
Electro-encephalogram  reveals  following:    “9  per  second  alpha  rhythm.    Also,  there 
appeared  a  few  6  per  second  waves.    Hyperventilation  produced  a  moderate  build-up 
with considerable 5-6 per second moderate voltage activity and bursts of high voltage 3 
per  second  waves  some  of  which  were  suggestive  of  the  psycho-motor  type  of  wave.  
There was no evidence for a focus of abnormality.  Impression:  This is a very abnormal 
record suggesting the diagnosis of epilepsy.” 
 
Psychiatric  consultation:    “Clinical  picture  and  brain  waves  suggest  diagnosis  of  Epi-
lepsy-petit mal type.  Treat with phenobarbital and discharge from the Service.“ 
 
We believe this patient is suffering from Petit mal type of Epilepsy and recommend dis-
charge from USCG. 
 
Patient  has  been  informed  of  the  findings  of  the  Board  and  does  not  wish  to  submit  a 
statement in rebuttal. 
 
The Medical Board of Survey reported that the applicant had no other physical 

defects or conditions.  

 
On  July  23,  1945,  the  commanding  officer  (CO)  of  the  district,  based  upon  the 
report of the Board of Medical Survey, ordered that the applicant be discharged “under 
Authority of Article 588, Coast Guard Regulations.  … The cause of discharge will be 
shown as being by reason of physical disability, incident to service.”  The applicant was 
prescribed phenobarbital. 

 
On August 1, 1945, the applicant was honorably discharged by reason of physical 
disability.  The same day, he filed a pension form for disability benefits from the Veter-
ans Administration (VA).  The applicant received a “50% pension” for “epilepsy, petit 
mal, due to combat.”  

 
On September 11, 1947, the applicant underwent a physical examination pursu-
ant to the continuation of his VA pension.  The applicant told the doctor that “[w]hen I 
overwork  myself  and  get  tired  this  petit  mal  epilepsy  comes  on.    I  had  an  attack  the 
beginning  of  September  1947.    My  stomach  seems  to  be  upset  for  about  a  week  after 
these attacks.  After these attacks my sight is hazy, but I know what is going on.  After 

these attacks I have sleepless nights.”  The doctor reported that the applicant claimed to 
have  had “about 15 such seizures since Jan[uary] of 1947.”  An EEG showed “diffuse 
cortical abnormality with high voltage 2-5 per second waves, sometimes flattopped or 
bifid.”  Following this examination, on December 7, 1947, the applicant’s disability rat-
ing was reduced from 50% to 10%. 

 
From October 22, 1948, through October 8, 1949, the applicant served in the U.S. 
Navy Reserve.  On October 28, 1949, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army.  On Octo-
ber 29, 1948, he wrote to the VA to waive his disability benefits.  He stated that he had 
suffered no symptoms for more than a year.  

 
In March 1951, the applicant was admitted to a hospital and discharged with a 

diagnosis of petit mal epilepsy.  A doctor reported the following: 

 
While on a routine march with full field equipment, patient felt suddenly dizzy and his 
vision became hazy for a few seconds.  He did not know exactly where he was and what 
he was doing.  He remembered later having seen men passing by or in front of him but 
he had felt during the spell that their presence did not interest him at all.  He also noticed 
a little nausea and a feeling of not being there. 
 
[Patient’s  history]  seems  significant  insofar  as  patient  has  had  similar  episodes  previ-
ously; he refers all this to a fall he did during combat on Guam.  An exploding shell burst 
nearby  or  something  similar  happened;  patient  fell  and  fractured  his  nose  on  the  right 
side.  He was not unconscious but had a feeling of not quite being there and noticing peo-
ple around him without having any interest in finding out who they were.  This lasted for 
about one week and then cleared away completely (1944).  In 1945 while driving a vehicle 
he  had  suddenly  a  spell  of  dizziness  and  haziness  before  his  eyes  accompanied  with 
nausea and a feeling as if the stomach wanted to burst out of his body.  He could not do 
anything to stop that feeling which passed within a few seconds as he thought thereafter.  
He  reported  sick  and  was  taken  to  hospital  where  he  stayed  for  4  months.    During  his 
stay  at  hospital  another  of  these  spells  occurred  lasting  a  few  seconds.    He  heard 
something about “petit mal” after an EEG was taken. 
 
In civilian life after his discharge from the Coast Guard he had two more incidents quite 
similar.  They seemed to occur when he was working extremely hard.  Then they never 
reoccurred until recently. … 
 
Impression:    In  view  of  history  petit  mal  is  likely  to  be  present,  perhaps  on  traumatic 
basis. 
 
Soon thereafter, the applicant was admitted to a psychiatric hospital apparently 
because another doctor reported that he found “no evidence to support the suspicion of 
petit mal but much to support a diagnosis of character and behavior disorder,” which 
was  impeding  the  applicant’s  performance  of  duty.    The  applicant’s  diagnosis  upon 
release from this hospital was “passive dependency reaction, chronic, moderate, mani-
fested by nausea and vomiting with anxiety when confronted with stressful situations.” 

 

In  May  1951,  the  applicant  was  admitted  to  a  hospital  for  further  neurological 
observation.    An  EEG  had  shown  “many irregularities of frequency, form and ampli-
tude” that were “definite abnormalities.”  One doctor suggested that there might be a 
“disorder  in  the  left  parieto-occipital  region.”    The  applicant’s  provisional  diagnosis 
upon  admission  was  “epilepsy,  psychomotor,  probably  secondary  to  minimal  head 
injury,  incurred  during  shelling  in  the  South  Pacific  during  WW  II,  manifested  by 
momentary  black-out  spells.”    A  doctor  noted  that  the  “I  would  call  this  petit  mal, 
except that the EEG tracing is not at all petit mal.”  During this hospitalization, how-
ever,  serial  EEGs  were  made  and  the  results  were  “well  within  normal  limits,  no 
abnormalities noted.”  The “final diagnosis” was “no disease found.” 

 
The  applicant  was  discharged  from  the  Army  on  February  5,  1954.    His  only 
diagnosis at the time was a “weak right thumb” due to a severe laceration in 1949.  He 
applied to the VA for a pension and received a zero percent disability rating for “epi-
lepsy, petit mal (History of)” and a 10% disability rating for his thumb injury. 

 
On  June  29,  2004,  the  applicant  sought  an  increase  in  his  VA  benefits.    He 
reported that the condition of his thumb had worsened and that his “neurological con-
dition [had] also worsened.  This condition was associated with left shoulder and neck 
pain and headaches.  These conditions have all worsened.  I have headaches daily and 
the shoulder and neck pain is constant.”  He stated that he had been misdiagnosed with 
epilepsy and that the neurological problem stemmed from a fall he sustained when an 
artillery  shell  exploded.    He  wrote,  “I  never  considered  the  impact  to  be  an  injury.  
However, the pain was slight and over the years grew worse.  The pain has now caused 
my neck to make turning to the left difficult.  This also increased the headache that was 
diagnosed as epilepsy.  The effect of this pain has caused sleep apnea and nightmares.  
This pain has persisted for about 57 1/2 years.” 

 
On September 1, 2004, the applicant underwent a physical examination pursuant 
to his application for increased benefits.  The applicant denied ever having seizures or 
symptoms of seizures.  The doctor reported that the applicant “does not have any active 
epilepsy, diagnosis of epilepsy, or treatment for epilepsy at this time, so this condition is 
not present at this time.” 

 
On September 17, 2004, the applicant’s disability ratings were continued as 10% 
for his thumb condition and 0% for epilepsy, petit mal.  The applicant’s left shoulder 
condition and neck pain were found to be “not service connected.”  The DVA’s report 
notes that its review of the applicant’s military medical records indicated that “there are 
no records concerning a shoulder or neck injury.  Separation physical dated 02-03-54 is 
negative for any complaints associated with the shoulders, neck or headaches.” 

 
In  response  to  the  VA’s  denial  of  increased  compensation,  the  applicant  wrote 

the following: 

 

Chronic right thalamic lacune.  There are mild scattered foci of chronic microan-

Moderate  cerebral  cortical  atrophy,  most  pronounced  along  the  convexities.  

1. 
There is mild cerebellar atrophy. 
2. 
giopathic changed in the cerebral white matter, and mild pontine involvement. 
3. 
4. 
mation. 
5. 
 
On January 28, 2005, the applicant underwent an EEG.  The results were “within 

No recent infarct, hemorrhage or mass lesion identified. 
No  evidence  for  hippocampal  sclerosis,  migration  anomaly  or  vascular  malfor-

Cervical spondylosis, with mild canal stenosis, C3 through C6. 

When I was diagnosed as having petit mal, I believe the doctors were inexperienced and 
perhaps  too  young to evaluate accurately.  Yes, I never had seizure.  However, my left 
shoulder was the cause of the headaches and blurred vision along with the shoulder pain. 
…  I told [a doctor] that the injury was caused while changing ships during the invasion 
of Bouganville or Guam (I don’t remember). …  Please correct the record — I never had a 
seizure and headaches still persist. … 
 
On January 25, 2005, the applicant underwent an MRI of the brain.  The doctor’s 

 
impression was as follows: 
 

normal limits” and “[n]o epileptiform potentials [were] noted.” 
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On February 9, 2006, the Judge Advocate General of the Coast Guard submitted 
an  advisory  opinion  in  which  he  recommended  that  the  Board  deny  the  applicant’s 
request.  He based his recommendation on a memorandum on the case prepared by the 
Coast Guard Personnel Command (CGPC). 
 
 
CGPC  stated  that  the  application  “may  be  denied  due  to  its  untimeliness.”  
Should  the  Board  waive  the  statute  of  limitations,  however,  CGPC  argued  that  the 
applicant’s request should be denied because his military medical record “supports that 
he  did  in  fact  suffer  a  form of convulsive disorder (epilepsy, petit mal seizure) at the 
time of his diagnosis and discharge from the Coast Guard.”  He noted that the applicant 
was informed of the diagnosis and therefore applied for and received disability benefits 
from the VA.  CGPC noted that the applicant’s Army medical records show that he was 
hospitalized for a similar problem in 1951 but that the diagnosis at that time was not 
conclusive. 
 
 
CGPC stated that although the applicant may not suffer from petit mal epilepsy 
now,  in  1945  his  symptoms  apparently  “met  the  criteria  for  this  diagnosis.”    CGPC 
argued  that  the  apparent  lack  of  symptoms  after  the  applicant  left  the  military  does 
“not discount the original diagnosis.”  CGPC alleged that “an individual who has been 
diagnosed  with  epilepsy  may  subsequently  exhibit  no  further  characteristics  of  the 
disease.”  Therefore, CGPC recommended that no relief be granted. 
 

 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE COAST GUARD’S VIEWS 

 
 
On  February  24,  2006,  the  Board  received  the  applicant’s  response  to  the 
advisory opinion.  He stated that “the cause of [his] pain and headaches was from an 
injury to my left rear shoulder.  That pain emigrated up [the] tendon of [his] head and 
caused pain which caused [him] to remain quiet and alone as much as possible.”   
 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

 
 
The  Board  makes  the  following  findings  and  conclusions  on  the  basis  of  the  
applicant's military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and appli-
cable law: 
 

The  Board  has  jurisdiction  concerning  this  matter  pursuant  to  10  U.S.C. 

1. 
§ 1552.  
 

2. 

An  application  to  the  Board  must  be  filed  within  three  years  after  the 
applicant  discovers  the  alleged  error  in  his  record.  10  U.S.C.  §  1552.    The  applicant 
alleged that he was unaware that he had been diagnosed with petit mal epilepsy until 
2004.  However, he applied for a VA pension on the basis of that diagnosis on the same 
day he was discharged from the Coast Guard, August 1, 1945, and discussed his “petit 
mal epilepsy” symptoms with a VA doctor on September 11, 1947.  Therefore, the Board 
finds that the preponderance of the evidence shows that the applicant was aware of his 
diagnosis and the reason for his discharge in 1945.  His application was thus untimely. 

 
3. 

 
5. 

The  Board  may  waive  the  three-year  statute  of  limitations  if  it  is  in  the 
interest of justice to do so.  10 U.S.C. § 1552(b).  To determine whether it is in the interest 
of justice to waive the statute of limitations, the Board should conduct a cursory review 
of  the  merits  of  the  case  and  consider  the  reasons  for  the  delay.  Dickson  v.  Sec’y  of 
Defense, 68 F.3d 1396 (D.D.C. 1995); Allen v. Card, 799 F. Supp. 158, 164 (D.D.C. 1992).  
 

4. 

As the applicant erroneously claimed not to have known of his diagnosis 
until 2004, he did not provide a reason for having delayed so many years to request the 
correction of his record.  While the applicant may have forgotten about his diagnosis in 
the  intervening  years,  his  Coast  Guard,  Army,  and  VA  medical  records  show that he 
must have been aware of the diagnosis in the years following his discharge. 

While serving in the Coast Guard and the Army, the applicant was hospi-
talized  several  times  because  he  complained  of  sudden  spells  of  dizziness,  blurred 
vision, nausea, and headache.  On September 11, 1947, while he was a civilian, he told a 
VA  doctor  that  he  had  had  about  fifteen  “attacks”  since  January  of  that  year.    The 
record indicates that these spells usually occurred when the applicant was doing some-
thing  that  was  very  physically  stressful.    Military  doctors  reported  that  the  results  of 
some EEGs were abnormal while the results of other EEGs were normal.  In 1945, while 

the applicant was serving in the Coast Guard, and in 1951, while he was in the Army, 
some doctors diagnosed him with petit mal epilepsy.  Others apparently thought that 
the  symptoms  might  be  caused  by  an  underlying  psychological  problem.    In  January 
2005, approximately sixty years after his discharge from the Coast Guard and fifty years 
after his discharge from the Army, an EEG showed “[n]o epileptiform potentials.” 
 
 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  contradictory  and  inconclusive  evidence  in  the 
applicant’s military medical records.  Absent evidence to the contrary, the Board must 
presume  that  government  officials,  including  the  applicant’s  military  doctors,  have 
carried out their duties “correctly, lawfully, and in good faith.”  Arens v. United States, 
969 F.2d 1034, 1037 (Fed. Cir. 1992); Sanders v. United States, 594 F.2d 804, 813 (Ct. Cl. 
1979).    To  be  entitled  to  relief,  the  applicant  must  submit  sufficient  evidence  to  over-
come  this  presumption  and  prove  the  alleged  error  or  injustice  in  his  record  by  a 
preponderance  of  the  evidence.    33  C.F.R.  § 52.24(b).    On  the  basis  of  the  applicant’s 
medical records—both old and new—the Board is unable to conclude that the doctors 
necessarily erred in diagnosing him with petit mal epilepsy in 1945. 
 
 
the statute of limitations.  The applicant’s request should be denied.  

Accordingly, the Board finds that it is not in the interest of justice to waive 

6. 

7. 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

 
 

The application of former xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCG, for correction of 

ORDER 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 
 Philip B. Busch 

 

 

 
 Dorothy J. Ulmer 

 

 

 
 Richard Walter 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

his military record is denied.