WW2 discharge papers; what does "days lost for Article of War (AW) 107" mean?

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:37:01 -0500

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?

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 4:54 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:54:57 -0500

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/AW/index.html

ART. 107. SOLDIERS TO MAKE GOOD TIME LOST.--Every soldier who in an existing or subsequent enlistment deserts the service of the United States or without proper authority absents himself from his organization, station, or duty for more than one day, or who is confined for more than one day under sentence, or while awaiting trial and disposition of his case, if the trial results in conviction, or through the intemperate use of drugs or alcoholic liquor, or through disease or injury the result of his own misconduct, renders himself unable for
more than one day to perform duty, shall be liable to serve, after his return to a full-duty status, for such period as shall, with the time he may have served prior to such desertion, unauthorized absence, confinement, or inability to perform duty, amount to the full term of that part of his enlistment period which he is required to serve with his organization before being furloughed to the Army reserve.

The previous paragraph is copied from the page at the link posted.

I interpret that to mean that Grandpa took a couple days off without authorization. Can't say as I'd blame him either.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 5:23 PM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 17:23:17 -0500

Since he was drafted, could this be for reporting for service late?

Response by SPC John A. made Jan 19 at 2016 2:54 PM

SPC John A. — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 14:54:45 -0500

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...

Response by Cyd Bo made Dec 14 at 2017 11:00 PM

Cyd Bo — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 23:00:40 -0500

I just received copies of my grandfathers WWII discharge papers. He has "10 days lost under AW 107; lapel button issued". I am confused. Why would they issue him a lapel button for going AWOL?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2017 2:43 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 14:43:53 -0500

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.

Response by Lisa Lo made Aug 21 at 2018 1:55 AM

Lisa Lo — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 01:55:37 -0400

I had the same question when I saw my father's WWII discharge paper recently. But I believe I'm going to win the prize here -- my father had "56 days lost under AW 107"! I know my dad saw fighting in India, China, and Central Burma, and it must have been horrific because he experienced vivid military-related nightmares throughout his life, but I don't know if that had anything to do with his absence. He was a 100% reliable guy, hardly ever drank alcohol, and was honorably discharged at T/5 grade with a bunch of medals (ha, one was for good conduct). Any wild guess as to why someone could be absent for 56 days? Thank you for your service, all of you vets!

Response by PO3 Nathan Cote made Oct 7 at 2018 1:48 PM

PO3 Nathan Cote — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 13:48:08 -0400

According a WWII veteran I've been working with who's discharge states 40 days lost AW 107....he said he was a POW under the Germans for those days, escaped...the rest is history.

Response by Debbie Steiniger made Dec 5 at 2018 9:22 PM

Debbie Steiniger — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 21:22:51 -0500

So far my dad's discharge papers beat all. His says "97 days lost under AW 107 ASR (2 Sep 45) - 92
Lapel button issued. Since he's no longer with us I can't ask him but I think it may have been when he had his appendix removed. From what I remember he was in Iceland but since his records are some of those that were destroyed I can't get his medical records. Just wondering if anyone knows if a surgery could have been included in this AW 107? I can't imagine my Dad leaving otherwise.

Response by PFC David Butenschoen made Dec 16 at 2018 12:41 AM

PFC David Butenschoen — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 00:41:40 -0500

Time Lost Under AW-107.
I see so many inquiries concerning this particular Article of War, it’s worth including-

"ART. 107. SOLDIERS TO MAKE GOOD TIME LOST. Every soldier who deserts the service of the United States, or who without proper authority absents himself from his organization, station, or duty for more than one day, or who is confined for more than one day under sentence, or while awaiting trial and disposition of his case, if the trial results in conviction, or who through the intemperate use of drugs or alcoholic liquor, or through disease the result of his own misconduct, renders himself unable for more than one day to perform duty shall be liable to serve, after his return to a full duty status, for such period as shall, with the time he may have served prior to such desertion, unauthorized absence, confinement, or inability to perform duty, amount to the full term to his enlistment."

The thing to remember during WWII is that the men were in "for the duration" so regardless, it didn't mean a whole lot. If this is on his honorable discharge, it wasn't very serious.

Response by 1SG Dennis Hicks made Jun 16 at 2019 10:41 AM

1SG Dennis Hicks — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 10:41:43 -0400

For years I was trying to figure out what "55 days lost under AW 107 meant. Considering my dad was 16 (Normal for WWII) and in uniform as well as in Europe I give him a great deal of slack. I did much worse at 16 and I road the rank roller coaster while in uniform. He went in a PVT reached PFC and left a PVT with an Honorable discharge so all is good. I think he even told me the story of how he lost his rocker when he borrowed a Truck to run some of his guys into town and got caught returning the truck without picking up doughnuts for the gate guard at the motor pool.

Response by Bill Harris made May 23 at 2021 1:19 PM

Bill Harris — Sun, 23 May 2021 13:19:14 -0400

My father's discharge papers say " 500 Days lost AW 107 Current Enlistment." What do you have to do to get 500 days punishment?

Response by CW5 Mark Smith made Jul 23 at 2021 5:54 PM

CW5 Mark Smith — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 17:54:31 -0400

It often meant days not performing duties, e.g. time in the guard house for various infractions (usually AWOL). When a Soldier had enough "points" for discharge, it was delayed by the number of days listed. But not always. They were downsizing so fast it often times didn't matter. It was "here's your discharge, now hit the road"!