ESTATE OF DICK WALOOK, ALFRED L. WOODS, AND EDWARD KIMOKTOAK AUGUST 9, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. DENTON, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 587] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 587) for the relief of the estate of Dick Walook, Alfred L. Woods, and Edward Kimoktoak, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 1, line 11, between the words "To" and "Dick" insert "the estate of". Page 2, line 2, after the figures "$263.75" strike out "and". Page 2, line 5, strike out the colon, and insert "and to Edward Kimoktoak (ASN 39825719), of Koyuk, Alaska, from Walla Walla, Washington, to Koyuk, Alaska, the sum of $247". Amend title so as to read: A bill for the relief of the estate of Dick Walook, Alfred L. Woods, and Edward Kimoktoak. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay the sum of $166.25 to the estate of Dick Walook, late of Wainwright, Alaska; to pay the sum of $39.85 to Alfred L. Woods, of Rampart, Alaska; and to pay the sum of $247 to Edward Kimoktoak, of Koyuk, Alaska, for reimbursement of the amount expended by each of the claimants for necessary traveling expenses from the place of discharge from the United States Army to his respective home in Alaska. STATEMENT OF FACTS It appears that these men were discharged in the United States and it was necessary that they pay additional amounts in order to return to their homes after their separation from the United States Army. H. Repts., 81-1, vol. 5-98 In the case of Dick Walook, who was discharged at Fort Lewis, Wash., the cost of commercial air transportation from Seattle, Wash., to Wainwright, Alaska, his home was $316.25. Although travel from Seattle, Wash., to Seward, Alaska, could ordinarily have been accomplished by water, there was a shipping strike during the period when Mr. Walook was traveling to his home so the cost of the entire trip by commercial air travel is used as the basis of computation. It is the opinion of the Department of the Army that Dick Walook's estate should receive $166.25, the difference between the cost of air. transportation to his home and the amount of travel pay which he actually received, inasmuch as Mr. Walook died during the course of the investigation of this matter. Alfred L. Woods was discharged from Fort Richardson, Alaska. The cost of air transportation from Anchorage, Alaska, the site of Fort Richardson, to Rampart, Alaska, Woods' home, was $57.50. It is the opinion of the Department of the Army that Mr. Woods is equitably entitled to reimbursement in the sum of $39.85, that being the difference between the cost of transportation to his home and the amount of travel pay which he actually received. H. R. 1788 was introduced for the relief of Edward Kimoktoak, and H. R. 587 is being amended to include him inasmuch as all three cases are to cover travel pay. The Department of the Army in its report in connection with Edward Kimoktoak's claim states that it is estimated that the cost of transportation from Walla Walla, Wash., to Koyuk, Alaska, via rail, ship, and air would be approximately $250. Therefore, it is the opinion of the Secretary of the Army, in his report dated July 29, 1949, that Mr. Kimoktoak is equitably entitled to reimbursement in the sum of $247, as provided in the bill. H. R. 333, Eightieth Congress, a bill for the relief of sundry residents of Alaska, veterans of World War II, involved facts similar to those presented in this matter. That bill was enacted by the Congress and was approved by the President on June 29, 1948, becoming Private Law 430, Eightieth Congress. Therefore, your committee recommends favorable consideration to the bill, as amended. Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. CELLER: The Department of the Army would have no objection to the enactment of H. R. 587, Eighty-first Congress, a bill for the relief of Dick Walook and Alfred L. Woods, if it should be amended as hereinafter recommended. This bill provides as follows: "That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the following, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for reimbursement of the amounts they expended for necessary travel expenses, in addition to any amounts paid to them by the United States for such purposes, in traveling from the paces of their discharges, as indicated, from the Army of the United States to their homes: To Dick Walook (ASN 39825588), of Wainwright, Alaska, from Fort Lewis, Washington, to Wainwright, Alaska, the sum of $263.75. and to Alfred L. Woods (ASN 39846592), of Rampart, Alaska, from Fort Richardson, Alaska, to Rampart, Alaska, the sum of $39.85." The National Defense Act of June 3, 1916, as amended in 1942, provided that upon discharge or release from active duty an enlisted man should be paid 5 cents a mile for the distance from the place of such discharge or release to the place where he was inducted into the military service (56 Stat. 1049). It appears that this provision of law did not, in many cases, provide full reimbursement to men who had entered the military service while residing in remote parts of Alaska, accessible only by air and often several hundred miles from the location of the Selective Service Board which inducted them, with the result that they were experiencing out-of-pocket expenses in order to return to their homes after separation from the Army. When this was brought to the attention of the Department, instructions were issued that, where feasible, personnel separated in Alaska should be transported directly to their homes. Subsequently, the situation was further rectified by the act of August 2, 1946 (60 Stat. 856; 10 U S. C. 752), which authorized payment of mileage from the place of separation to the home. However, before these charges had occurred, a number of men had already expended personal funds for travel expenses. H. R. 587 would reimburse Mr. Walook and Mr. Woods for the personal funds which they expended in order to return to their homes after their separation from the Army. DICK WALOOK The final payment made to Dick Walook upon his separation from the military service included the sum of $150 as travel pay at the rate of 5 cents a mile from Fort Lewis, Wash., the place of his separation from the service, to Ladd Field, Alaska, the place of his induction. The cost of commercial air transportation from Seattle, Wash., to Wainwright, Alaska, Walook's home, was $316.25. (Although travel from Seattle, Wash., to Seward. Alaska, could ordinarily have been accomplished by water, there was a shipping strike during the period when Mr. Walook was traveling to his home so the cost of the entire trip by commercial air travel is used as the basis of computation.) It is the opinion of the Department of the Army that Dick Walook, is equitably entitled to reimbursement in the sum of $166.25, the difference between the cost of air transportation to his home and the amount of travel pay which he actually received. During the course of the investigation of this matter in February 1949 a letter addressed to Mr. Walook at Wainwright, Alaska, was returned by the postmaster of that town with the notation that the reason for nondelivery was that the addressee was deceased. Under the circumstances it is recommended that an award of $166.25 be made to the estate of Dick Walook. ALFRED L. WOODS The final payment to Alfred L. Woods upon his separation from the military service included the sum of $17.65 as travel pay at the rate of 5 cents a mile from Fort Richardson, Alaska, the place of his separation from the service, to Ladd Field, Alaska, the place of his induction. The cost of air transportation from Anchorage, Alaska, the site of Fort Richardson, to Rampart, Alaska, Woods home, was $57 50. It is the opinion of the Department of the Army that Alfred L. Woods is equitably entitled to reimbursement in the sum of $39.85, as provided in the bill, that being the difference between the cost of transportation to his home and the amount of travel pay which he actually received. H. R. 333, Eightieth Congress, a bill for the relief of sundry residents of Alaska, veterans of World War II, involved facts similar to those presented in this matter. That bill was enacted by the Congress and was approved by the President on June 29, 1948, becoming Private Law 430, Eightieth Congress. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, GORDON GRAY, Secretary of the Army. Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, Washington, D. C., July 29, 1949. House of Representatives. DEAR MR. CELLER: The Department of the Army has no objection to the enactment of H. R. 1788, Eighty-first Congress, a bill for the relief of Edward Kimoktoak. This bill provides as follows: "That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to Edward Kimoktoak (Army serial number 39825719) of Koyuk, Alaska, the sum of $247. in full settlement of all claims against the United States for reimbursement of the amount he expended for necessary travel expenses. in addition to any amounts paid to him by the United States for such purposes, in traveling from Walla Walla, Washington, to Koyuk, Alaska, upon his discharge from the Army of the United States' The National Defense Act of June 3, 1916, as amended in 1942, provided that upon discharge or release from active duty an enlisted man should be paid 5 cents a mile for the distance from the place of such discharge or release to the place where he was inducted into the military service (56 Stat 1049). It appears that this provision of law did not. in many cases. provide full reimbursement to men who had entered the military service while residing in remote parts of Alaska, accessible on v by air and often several hundred miles from the location of the Selective Service Board which inducted them, with the result that they were experiencing out-of-pocket expenses in order to return to their homes after separation from the Army. When this was brought to the attention of the Department, instructions were issued that, where feasible. personnel separated in Alaska, should be transported directly to their homes. Subsequently, the situation was further rectified by the act of August 2, 1946 (60 Stat 856; 10 U. S. C. 752), which authorized payment of mileage from the place of separation to the home. However, before these changes had occurred a number of men had already expended personal funds for travel expenses. The purpose of H. R. 1788 is to reimburse Mr Kimoktoak for the personal funds which he expended in order to return to his home after his separation from the Army At the time of his induction into the military service at Nome, Alaska, on November 17. 1941 Edward Kimoktoak resided at Koyuk Alaska On May 23, 1944, he was separated from the military service at the Veterans Administration facility at Walla Walla, Wash. on a certificate of disability for discharge. The final payment made to Edward Kimoktoak upon his separation from the military service did not include any travel pay by reason of the fact that in 25 Comptroller General 433 the Comptroller General had stated the law to be that when an enlisted man is sent to a Veterans' Administration facility for separation he is entitled to transportation by the Government to the facility only. However. the Army disbursing officer who made the computation of Kimoktoak's final pay overlooked the fact that the Comptroller General's opinion confined the rule to those cases where the Veterans' Administration facility at which the enlisted man is separated is located "in the vicinity of his home Since Walla Walla. Wash., is almost 3,000 miles from Koyuk. Alaska, Kimoktoak's home, it is apparent that he was within the exception to the rule and should have received travel pay from the hospital to his home. It is estimated that the cost of transportation from Walla Walla to Koyuk, via rail, ship, and air would be approximately $250. Accordingly, it is the opinion of the Department of the Army that Edward Kimoktoak is equitably entitled to reimbursement in the sum of $247, as provided in the bill. H. R. 333, Eightieth Congress, a bill for the relief of sundry residents of Alaska, veterans of World War II, involved facts similar to those presented in this matter. That bill was enacted by the Congress and was approved by the President on June 29, 1948, becoming Private Law 430, Eightieth Congress. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, GORDON GRAY, Secretary of the Army. O JACOB BROWN AUGUST 9, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. JENNINGS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 1024 The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1024) for the relief of Jacob Brown, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendment is as follows: Page 1, line 6. after the figures "$3,184" strike out ", together with interest on such sum at the rate of 6 per centum per annum beginning on July 1. 1944. and ending on the date of enactment of this Act". The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay the sum of $3,184 to Jacob Brown, of Wilmington, Del.; the payment of such sum shall be in full settlement of all claims against the United States for restitution of such sum, which is the amount he paid on July 1, 1944, for plumbing supplied offered for sale by the United States at a public auction held by the collector of internal revenue at Wilmington, Del. It has been judicially determined subsequent to July 1, 1944, that the United States had no title or interest in said plumbing supplies and that the said Jacob Brown received no title thereto. STATEMENT OF FACTS Under date of July 1, 1944, a public sale was held by the collector of internal revenue, at Wilmington, Del., on the premises of the McCormick Co., at Ninth and Church Streets, at which sale plumbing supplies, warehoused on said premises, were duly sold. The successful bidder at the sale was Jacob Brown, who paid the full purchase price of $3,125. The sale was held on a Saturday, and on the following Monday morning, before Mr. Brown had had an opportunity to remove the goods so bought, a suit in replevin was instituted by Muhleman & Kayhoe, Inc., and the goods seized thereunder. |