B-124970, MAR. 1, 1956

B-124970, MAR. 1, 1956

TO CAPTAIN MERRILL E. BARNES, USAFR:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF JUNE 20, 1955, REGARDING OUR SETTLEMENT OF MAY 26, 1955, WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM FOR PAYMENT FOR SIX PERIODS OF INACTIVE DUTY TRAINING AS CAPTAIN, U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVE, ON JANUARY 4, 5 AND 6, 1951, WITH THE 81ST FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR WING, LARSON AIR FORCE BASE, MOSES LAKE, WASHINGTON.

YOUR CLAIM WAS DISALLOWED ON THE GROUND THAT YOUR RIGHT TO PAYMENT FOR THE PERIODS INVOLVED WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY ESTABLISHED. IT WAS POINTED OUT THAT NO PROPERLY EXECUTED PAYROLL WAS SUBMITTED TO SUBSTANTIATE YOUR CLAIM AND THAT THERE WAS NO SHOWING AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOUR NAME HAD APPEARED ON AN ORIGINAL PAYROLL OF THE 81ST MAINTENANCE SQUADRON AND, IF IT HAD APPEARED ON SUCH A PAYROLL, WHY PAYMENT WAS NOT MADE TO YOU ON THAT PAYROLL. IT WAS INDICATED THAT THERE APPEARED TO BE SOME DOUBT AS TO THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE FORMS (AF FORM 40) SUBMITTED BY YOU IN SUPPORT OF YOUR CLAIM DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE GRADE OF HORATIO O. MORGAN, WHO SIGNED AS AUTHENTICATING OFFICER, WAS SHOWN AS COLONEL, WHEREAS IN JANUARY 1951 HE WAS A LIEUTENANT COLONEL.

YOU SAY THAT YOUR NAME DID APPEAR ON THE ORIGINAL PAYROLL (FORM DD 10) OF THE 81ST MAINTENANCE SQUADRON AND WAS REDLINED OFF FOR SOME REASON WHICH YOU DO NOT KNOW; THAT YOUR CORRESPONDENCE ORIGINALLY STARTED OUT WITH A LETTER TO HEADQUARTERS FOURTH AIR FORCE IN CALIFORNIA AND "THEY SUBSTANTIATED THIS FACT AND STATED THE REASON WHY; " THAT YOU ARE SURE THIS INFORMATION MUST BE IN THE CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO YOUR CLAIM UNLESS IT WAS WITHDRAWN SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE; AND THAT IF THIS INFORMATION IS NOT NOW IN THE FILE YOU WILL BE GLAD TO WRITE TO THAT HEADQUARTERS AGAIN IF IT IS NOT FEASIBLE FOR US TO DO SO. YOU INDICATE THAT YOU CONSIDER IF OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE THE FACT THAT HORATIO O. MORGAN WAS SHOWN AS COLONEL INSTEAD OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL, SAYING THAT THIS IS STRICTLY A TYPING ERROR AND THAT THE TYPIST WHO MADE OUT THE FORM NO DOUBT MADE THE ERROR. YOU SAY THAT THE SIGNATURES ARE AUTHENTIC AND CERTAINLY SHOULD BE THE DECIDING FACTOR.

THE CLAIM FILE IN OUR OFFICE CONTAINS THREE COPIES OF AF FORM 40, ONE FOR EACH OF THE THREE DAYS INVOLVED, JANUARY 4, 5 AND 6, 1951, AND THE DATES OF AUTHORIZATION ARE SHOWN AS JANUARY 4, 5 AND 6, 1951, RESPECTIVELY. IS NOTED, HOWEVER, THAT IN EACH INSTANCE THE YEAR WAS ORIGINALLY SHOWN AS "1950" BUT WAS CHANGED TO READ "1951.' IT APPEARS FROM THESE FORMS THAT YOU, AS A MEMBER OF THE 81ST MAINTENANCE SQUADRON, WERE AUTHORIZED BY THE 81ST FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR WING, LARSON AIR FORCE BASE, MOSES LAKE, WASHINGTON, TO PARTICIPATE IN INACTIVE DUTY TRAINING AT THAT PLACE FROM 0800 TO 1200 AND FROM 1300 TO 1700 ON THE DATES SPECIFIED. THE AUTHORIZATIONS WERE SIGNED BY HORATIO O. MORGAN,"COL USAF," BY ORDER OF COLONEL PINKSTON. THE CERTIFICATIONS AS TO YOUR ATTENDANCE WERE SIGNED BY MAJOR CLAUDE H. EDWARDS. IT IS STATED, HOWEVER, IN THE 12TH INDORSEMENT-- - REPLYING TO YOUR 11TH INDORSEMENT OF JUNE 6, 1952--- FROM THE 81ST MAINTENANCE SQUADRON AND SIGNED BY CLAUDE H. EDWARDS, THEN LIEUTENANT COLONEL, THAT THEY HAD NO RECORDS THAT YOU TRAINED WITH THEIR ORGANIZATION ON THE DAYS IN QUESTION AND THAT THE REQUIRED PAYROLL COULD NOT BE CERTIFIED. THESE PAPERS WERE INCLUDED IN THE FILE FORWARDED TO US BY THE SETTLEMENTS DIVISION, AIR FORCE FINANCE CENTER, DENVER, COLORADO, WITH ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT DATED NOVEMBER 16, 1954, STATING THAT THE CLAIM INVOLVES DOUBTFUL QUESTIONS OF LAW OR FACT. THERE IS NO EXPLANATION IN THE FILES AS TO WHY YOU WERE NOT PAID ON CURRENT PAYROLLS, WHETHER BY MISTAKE, INADVERTENCE OR OTHERWISE.

NO RECORDS AVAILABLE TO US HAVE BEEN LOCATED WHICH SHOW PERFORMANCE OF INACTIVE DUTY TRAINING BY YOU ON THE DATES IN QUESTION AND AN AUTHENTICATED COPY OF STATEMENT OF SERVICE (DD FORM 13) OBTAINED FROM THE AIR ADJUTANT GENERAL DOES NOT INDICATE INACTIVE DUTY TRAINING ON THOSE DATES. AN EXAMINATION OF THE PAYROLLS FOR THE 81ST FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR WING FOR THE PERIOD INVOLVED HAS FAILED TO REVEAL ANY VOUCHER ON WHICH YOUR NAME WAS REDLINED, AS YOU CONTEND. REGARDING THE AUTHORIZATION SIGNED BY HORATIO O. MORGAN AS "COL USAF" RATHER THAN AS LIEUTENANT COLONEL, THE RANK HE HELD AT THE TIME INVOLVED, IT MAY BE THAT SUCH DESIGNATION WAS A TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR AS YOU SUGGEST; HOWEVER, SINCE IT APPEARS THAT THE OFFICER SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME A COLONEL, HIS SIGNATURE IN THAT CAPACITY MIGHT ALSO INDICATE THAT THE FORMS AF 40 WERE EXECUTED BY HIM SUBSEQUENT TO THE PERIOD OF ALLEGED DUTY RATHER THAN IN ADVANCE AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE REGULATIONS.

WHILE IN THE PROCESSING OF CLAIMS WE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO LOCATE ALL OFFICIAL RECORDS WHICH WOULD BE PERTINENT TO THE PROPER DETERMINATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CLAIMANT, IT IS THE LONG ESTABLISHED RULE THAT IF THE RECORDS LOCATED FAIL TO ESTABLISH A RIGHT TO PAYMENT THE PERSONS WHO PRESENT CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES MUST ESTABLISH CLEARLY THE FACTS UPON WHICH THEIR CLAIMS ARE BASED AND THE BURDEN IMPOSED BY THE RULE MUST BE MET SQUARELY IN EACH CASE IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY THE ALLOWANCE OF SUCH CLAIMS FROM APPROPRIATE FUNDS. 23 COMP. GEN. 907. AFTER A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF THE PRESENT RECORD IT MUST BE CONCLUDED THAT THE VALIDITY OF YOUR CLAIM HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED. ACCORDINGLY, THE SETTLEMENT OF MAY 26, 1955, IS SUSTAINED.