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B-159940, NOV. 14, 1966

B-159940 Nov 14, 1966
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BECKER: FURTHER REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF AUGUST 8. YOU WERE DISCHARGED UNDER OTHER THAN HONORABLE CONDITIONS ON OCTOBER 7. WE UNDERSTAND THAT IN 1950 A REQUEST BY YOU FOR REVIEW OF YOUR DISCHARGE WAS DENIED. YOU WERE ISSUED AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE ON NOVEMBER 3. THAT CLAIM WAS REFERRED TO OUR CLAIMS DIVISION FOR CONSIDERATION AND APPROPRIATE ACTION. ADVISED YOU THAT SINCE YOU WERE PAID IN FULL ON SUCH DATE NO FURTHER AMOUNTS WERE PAYABLE ON YOUR CLAIM. THIS WAS MY OWN MONEY. I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS NOTICE.'. WE ARE ENCLOSING FOR YOUR EXAMINATION A COPY OF THE VOUCHER (VOUCHER NO. 19923. THE DATE YOU WERE DISCHARGED AT FORT DEVENS. WAS OBTAINED FROM THIS DOCUMENT. YOU WILL SEE THAT IN ADDITION TO TERMINAL PAY AND ALLOWANCES ($69.12) YOU WERE PAID TRAVEL PAY AT THE RATE OF 5 CENTS PER MILE FOR THE OFFICIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN FORT DEVENS AND NEW YORK (267 MILES) OR $13.35.

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B-159940, NOV. 14, 1966

TO MR. HERBERT J. BECKER:

FURTHER REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF AUGUST 8, 1966, RETURNING COPY OF OFFICE SETTLEMENT DATED AUGUST 3, 1966, AND IN EFFECT REQUESTING RECONSIDERATION OF YOUR CLAIM FOR MONETARY BENEFITS BELIEVED TO BE DUE YOU AS A RESULT OF THE CHANGE OF YOUR DISCHARGE FROM THE UNITED STATES ARMY TO HONORABLE BY THE ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD ON NOVEMBER 3, 1965.

OUR FILE SHOWS THAT YOU ENLISTED IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY AT NEW YORK, NEW YORK, ON APRIL 24, 1941, AND THAT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION VIII, ARMY REGULATIONS NO. 615-360, DATED NOVEMBER 26, 1942, YOU WERE DISCHARGED UNDER OTHER THAN HONORABLE CONDITIONS ON OCTOBER 7, 1943, AT FORT DEVENS, MASSACHUSETTS, AS A PRIVATE FIRST CLASS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT IN 1950 A REQUEST BY YOU FOR REVIEW OF YOUR DISCHARGE WAS DENIED. SEPTEMBER 26, 1965, HOWEVER, YOU AGAIN APPLIED TO THE ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD FOR A REVIEW OF THE CHARACTER OF YOUR DISCHARGE AND AS A RESULT OF THAT REVIEW, YOU WERE ISSUED AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE ON NOVEMBER 3, 1965.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH ADVICE FURNISHED TO YOU BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY IN A LETTER DATED NOVEMBER 26, 1965, YOU PRESENTED A CLAIM TO THE CHIEF OF SETTLEMENT OPERATIONS, FINANCE CENTER, U.S. ARMY, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ON DECEMBER 3, 1965, FOR MONETARY BENEFITS THAT MIGHT BE DUE YOU BY VIRTUE OF THE CHANGE OF THE CHARACTER OF YOUR DISCHARGE. THAT CLAIM WAS REFERRED TO OUR CLAIMS DIVISION FOR CONSIDERATION AND APPROPRIATE ACTION.

IN THE SETTLEMENT DATED AUGUST 3, 1966, DISALLOWING YOUR CLAIM, OUR CLAIMS DIVISION LISTED THE AMOUNTS PAID TO YOU ON THE DATE OF YOUR DISCHARGE FOR TERMINAL PAY AND ALLOWANCES AND FOR REFUND OF SOLIDER'S DEPOSITS PLUS INTEREST, IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF $1,077.47, AND ADVISED YOU THAT SINCE YOU WERE PAID IN FULL ON SUCH DATE NO FURTHER AMOUNTS WERE PAYABLE ON YOUR CLAIM.

YOU ASSERT IN YOUR LETTER OF AUGUST 8, 1966, THAT YOU DID NOT RECEIVE ANY MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENT, THAT YOU LOST OUT ON THE "JOB TRAINING PROGRAM" AND THE "G.I. EDUCATION PROGRAM," AND FURTHER THAT YOU HAD TO PAY YOUR OWN TRAVELING EXPENSES FROM FORT DEVENS TO NEW YORK, NEW YORK. ALSO, ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CERTIFICATE YOU WROTE THE STATEMENT "THIS MONEY I SAVED IN THE BANK, THIS WAS MY OWN MONEY, I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS NOTICE.'

WE ARE ENCLOSING FOR YOUR EXAMINATION A COPY OF THE VOUCHER (VOUCHER NO. 19923, OCTOBER 1943 ACCOUNTS OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL H. A. PIERCE, F.D.) COVERING THE PAYMENT OF $1,077.47 MADE TO YOU ON OCTOBER 7, 1943, THE DATE YOU WERE DISCHARGED AT FORT DEVENS. THE INFORMATION FURNISHED TO YOU IN THE SETTLEMENT OF AUGUST 3, 1966, WAS OBTAINED FROM THIS DOCUMENT. YOU WILL SEE THAT IN ADDITION TO TERMINAL PAY AND ALLOWANCES ($69.12) YOU WERE PAID TRAVEL PAY AT THE RATE OF 5 CENTS PER MILE FOR THE OFFICIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN FORT DEVENS AND NEW YORK (267 MILES) OR $13.35. ALSO, A REFUND OF YOUR SOLDIER'S DEPOSITS, TOTALING $950, PLUS INTEREST OF $45.15, WAS INCLUDED IN THE PAYMENT OF $1,077.47. THE ONLY DEDUCTION MADE FROM THE AMOUNT FOUND DUE YOU WAS 15 CENTS FOR THE U.S. SOLDIERS HOME MAINTENANCE FUND.

YOU WILL ALSO NOTE FROM THE COPY OF THE PAID VOUCHER THAT THE AMOUNT OF $1,077.47 WAS PAID TO YOU IN CASH ON OCTOBER 7, 1943, AND THAT SUCH VOUCHER BEARS YOUR SIGNATURE AS EVIDENCE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THAT AMOUNT. ACCORDINGLY, NO ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE PAYABLE ON THAT PORTION OF YOUR CLAIM RELATING TO TERMINAL PAY AND ALLOWANCES, TRAVEL ALLOWANCE TO PLACE OF ENLISTMENT AND REFUND OF YOUR SOLDIER'S DEPOSITS.

SUBSEQUENT TO THE DATE OF YOUR DISCHARGE, STATUTORY PROVISIONS WERE ENACTED AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF MUSTERING-OUT PAY (MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENT ACT OF 1944, APPROVED FEBRUARY 3, 1944, CH. 9, 58 STAT. 8, 38 U.S.C. 691-691G, 1946 ED.) AND PAYMENT FOR UNUSED ACCRUED LEAVE (ARMED FORCES LEAVE ACT OF 1946, APPROVED AUGUST 9, 1946, CH. 931, 60 STAT. 963, 37 U.S.C. 32-37, 1946 ED.) TO MEMBERS DISCHARGED UNDER HONORABLE CONDITIONS AND OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE TO SUCH ALLOWANCES. SINCE YOU WERE DISCHARGED ON OCTOBER 7, 1943, UNDER OTHER THAN HONORABLE CONDITIONS, YOU WERE INELIGIBLE TO CLAIM SUCH ALLOWANCES PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE CHANGE OF THE CHARACTER OF YOUR DISCHARGE TO HONORABLE.

IN VIEW OF THE RECENT CHANGE OF YOUR DISCHARGE AND ON THE BASIS OF YOUR GENERAL CLAIM FOR MONETARY BENEFITS IT IS CONCLUDED THAT YOU NOW ARE ENTITLED TO THE ALLOWANCES PROVIDED BY THE ABOVE LAWS. ACCORDINGLY, WE ARE INSTRUCTING OUR CLAIMS DIVISION TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO ALLOW YOU THE AMOUNTS DETERMINED TO BE DUE YOU FOR MUSTERING-OUT PAY AND UNUSED ACCRUED LEAVE.

UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF GOVERNING LAW AND REGULATIONS THE ELIGIBILITY OF A VETERAN TO JOB TRAINING AND EDUCATION BENEFITS IS FOR DETERMINATION BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS OR HIS DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES. ALSO, UNDER OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW--- SEE 38 U.S.C. 211 (A/--- THE DECISIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE PROGRAMS ARE FINAL AND CONCLUSIVE. IT IS SUGGESTED, THEREFORE, THAT ANY FURTHER INQUIRY THAT YOU MAY HAVE CONCERNING SUCH BENEFITS BE ADDRESSED TO THE ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS, VETERANS ADMINISTRATION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420.

THE SETTLEMENT OF AUGUST 3, 1966, IS RETURNED. ALSO WE ARE RETURNING THE COPY OF THE NEWSPAPER CLIPPING AND ATTACHMENTS RECEIVED BY US ON OCTOBER 24, 1966.

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