B-129345, OCT. 29, 1956
Highlights
MICHAEL: REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 12. YOU WERE ORDERED TO PROCEED FROM YOUR HOME. TRAVEL BY COMMERCIAL AIR WAS DIRECTED. THE ORDERS ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT TRAVEL WAS NOT LIMITED TO AIR TRAVEL. AT WHICH POINT YOU SAY THE PLANE WAS GROUNDED BECAUSE OF A SNOW STORM. YOUR CLAIM WAS DISALLOWED BY SETTLEMENT DATED SEPTEMBER 10. OF OUR CLAIMS DIVISION ON THE BASIS THAT YOU COULD HAVE DEPARTED BY RAIL FROM PORTSMOUTH. YOU SAY THAT YOU WERE FORCED TO REMAIN IN NEW YORK. THAT THERE WAS NO WAY OF GETTING ANY TRAIN FROM THAT CITY TO WASHINGTON. THE TRAINS THAT WERE RUNNING BEING "FULL. WAS OVERBURDENED BECAUSE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS. IT IS NOT CONSIDERED ESTABLISHED THAT YOU COULD NOT HAVE RETURNED TO WASHINGTON.
B-129345, OCT. 29, 1956
TO MR. RICHARD A. MICHAEL:
REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 12, 1956, CONCERNING YOUR CLAIM FOR PAY AND ALLOWANCES FOR MARCH 19, 1956, UNDER ORDERS TO TRAINING DUTY AS A COMMISSIONED OFFICER, UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE.
BY ORDERS DATED FEBRUARY 24, 1956, FROM THE COMMANDANT, POTOMAC RIVER NAVAL COMMAND, YOU WERE ORDERED TO PROCEED FROM YOUR HOME, WASHINGTON, D.C., AND TO REPORT ON MARCH 5, 1956, TO U.S. NAVAL RETRAINING COMMAND, NAVAL BASE, PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, FOR 14 DAYS ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING. TRAVEL BY COMMERCIAL AIR WAS DIRECTED, BUT THE ORDERS ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT TRAVEL WAS NOT LIMITED TO AIR TRAVEL. UPON COMPLETION OF THE 14 DAYS' ACTIVE DUTY TRAINING ON MARCH 18, 1956, YOU DEPARTED FROM PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ON THAT DATE AND TRAVELED BY BUS AND COMMERCIAL AIR TO NEW YORK, NEW YORK, AT WHICH POINT YOU SAY THE PLANE WAS GROUNDED BECAUSE OF A SNOW STORM. YOU ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ON MARCH 19, 1956, BY RAIL AFTER SPENDING THE NIGHT IN NEW YORK.
YOUR CLAIM WAS DISALLOWED BY SETTLEMENT DATED SEPTEMBER 10, 1956, OF OUR CLAIMS DIVISION ON THE BASIS THAT YOU COULD HAVE DEPARTED BY RAIL FROM PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AT 9:30 A.M., MARCH 18, 1956, WITH ARRIVAL AT WASHINGTON, D.C., AT 7:15 P.M., THE SAME DATE. IN THE LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 12, 1956, YOU SAY THAT YOU WERE FORCED TO REMAIN IN NEW YORK, NEW YORK, THE NIGHT OF MARCH 18, 1956, ALL PLANES BEING GROUNDED ON ACCOUNT OF THE STORM, AND THAT THERE WAS NO WAY OF GETTING ANY TRAIN FROM THAT CITY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., THE TRAINS THAT WERE RUNNING BEING "FULL, WITH THE AISLES FULL OF STANDING PEOPLE.'
WHILE IT MAY BE THAT ON MARCH 18, 1956, RAIL TRAVEL BETWEEN NEW YORK, NEW YORK, AND WASHINGTON, D.C., WAS OVERBURDENED BECAUSE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS, IT IS NOT CONSIDERED ESTABLISHED THAT YOU COULD NOT HAVE RETURNED TO WASHINGTON, D.C., ON THAT DATE, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT APPEARS THAT YOU ARRIVED IN NEW YORK IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON. IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, PAYMENT OF YOUR CLAIM IS NOT AUTHORIZED, AND THE DISALLOWANCE OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1956, IS SUSTAINED.