Posted on Feb 18, 2015
WW2 discharge papers; what does "days lost for Article of War (AW) 107" mean?
41K
26
30
4
4
0
So my dad pulled out my grandfather's discharge paperwork and asked me if I could decipher what it said for him. I was able to figure out the majority of it, he was drafted and served with Co B 46th Infantry Battalion of the 5th Armored Division. He was honorably discharged as a Tech 5, but it has a section where it says that he had 2 days time lost for AW 107.
I have searched the internet and can't seem to find much more than that this means he was "punished" under Articles of War 107 but I cannot find any clear information on what article 107 was for. I was just wondering if any military history folks in here could answer this for me?
I have searched the internet and can't seem to find much more than that this means he was "punished" under Articles of War 107 but I cannot find any clear information on what article 107 was for. I was just wondering if any military history folks in here could answer this for me?
Posted in these groups: 
Military History
Military History
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 12
5
5
0
Articles of War, section 107.
Almost certainly, he got drunk and was put in confinement for a couple of days.
This article pertains to absence without authority, but it was commonly applied to Soldiers who got drunk to the point of not being able to report for duty the subsequent day. The time they missed was "lost" and they had to make it up before their term was over.
Almost certainly, he got drunk and was put in confinement for a couple of days.
This article pertains to absence without authority, but it was commonly applied to Soldiers who got drunk to the point of not being able to report for duty the subsequent day. The time they missed was "lost" and they had to make it up before their term was over.
(5)
(0)
1SG (Join to see)
SSgt John Hopkins - Commander's discretion. A Soldier with a lot of valuable contributions to the unit, might spend a night in the cooler and no further punishment. One that got in a fight, got picked up by MPs, or had a more visible infraction might get a higher-level commander involved and a more serious punishment.
UCMJ has punishment guldelines, but commanders often use their discretion when applying punitive actions, then and now.
UCMJ has punishment guldelines, but commanders often use their discretion when applying punitive actions, then and now.
(0)
(0)
LTC Jason Mackay
SSgt John Hopkins one of the reasons Congress forced UCMJ on the armed forces after WWII was the random and uneven application of discipline under the Articles of War (Army) and “Rocks and Shoals” (Navy). Check out the book Courts Martial by Chris Bray
(0)
(0)
3
3
0
Hi. I'm not a member of the forum, but I've been looking into this question as well. A great many veterans seem to have more than 0 days indicated here, and I think civilians can jump to the worst interpretation of the phrase "Absent Without Leave." After all, there are circumstances under which being AWOL in a time of war is punishable by firing squad, yes? But the Article of War someone else quoted - correctly - indicates a spectrum of behavior. And some discharge papers indicate hundreds of days lost. Usually there was no accompanying court martial to account for this time, and usually the discharges are honorable in spite of whatever the case was. Here's a more innocent example of a situation that could land a soldier in the predicament of having to remain in service after he would otherwise have been dismissed, to make up for lost days. If he'd been doing something dumb that he had no business doing, either because he was drunk or because he was 18 and invincible, and he hurt himself badly enough to render himself unfit for duty, he might have been required to make up the time spent in recovery. Just a thought...
(3)
(0)
Pamela Orth
Wow, my dad received a lapel button for 4 days lost, really, what could that be. He was honorably discharged. He wouldn't have gotten stinking drunk!!!
daughter: [login to see] .net
daughter: [login to see] .net
(0)
(0)
SSgt John Hopkins
WD AGO 53-55 (nka "DD214"); "25 days lost AW 107': were there sentencing guidelines? possibly indicating the offense.
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
My father's discharge papers say " 500 Days lost AW 107 Current Enlistment." What do you have to do to get 500 days punishment?
(1)
(0)
1SG (Join to see)
I can think of a couple. Illness contracted by "negligence" - think STD, not taking malaria drugs was a common culprit. A period of confinement, although 500 days is a long time and would have to be a pretty serious offense.
Rare, but POWs deemed to have not surrendered honorably might fall into this category.
I'd bet on the malaria theory.
Rare, but POWs deemed to have not surrendered honorably might fall into this category.
I'd bet on the malaria theory.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google