RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER:  01-01767
		INDEX CODE:  131.06
		COUNSEL:  None
	
		HEARING DESIRED:  No

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to show he was promoted to the grade of first lieutenant effective 10 January 1945 based on his status as a Prisoner of War (POW) according to AR 605-12, paragraph 4(d), as amended on 9 December 1944.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

It was policy in the 9th Air Force to promote second lieutenants to first lieutenant after completion of 15 combat missions.  This was not followed in his group.  Army Regulation (AR) 605-12 Section II, paragraph 4, D5, effective August 1946, authorized one-grade promotions for POWs.  He flew 25 missions in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from May to August 1944 and was shot down on the 26th mission near Chartres, France.  He was a Prisoner of War from 4 August 1944 until 7 May 1945.  He started writing letters in 1947 to various agencies and finally received his promotion in 1951 after he was recalled during the Korean conflict.  He had 4 service separations -- all honorable.

In support of his application, he provided a personal statement and copies of correspondence associated with his attempts to obtain information concerning promotion.  The applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  The following information was extracted from documents provided by the applicant.

On 27 June 1940, the applicant enlisted in the Army of the United States at the age of 19.  He was subsequently appointed an aviation cadet and, on 9 July 1943, he was honorably discharged from enlisted status for the convenience of the government, and his appointment as an aviation cadet was terminated.  He was appointed a second lieutenant, Army of the United States (AUS), Air Corps (AC) on 10 July 1943 and entered active duty on that same date.  Effective 22 March 1944, he was assigned to duties in the ETO and performed duties as a bombardier.  Before becoming a POW, he was credited with 450 flying hours, of which 95 hours were in combat over Europe.  There is no official document in the available records showing the duration of the applicant’s incarceration other than his statements that he was shot down on 4 August 1944 and was liberated on 29 April 1945 (a period of approximately eight and one-half months).  (The applicant also states he was returned to military control on 7 May 1945.)  He returned to the Continental United States on 3 June 1945 and was released from active duty on 29 November 1945 by reason of demobilization.  He was credited with 1 year and 2 months of service in the Continental United States and 1 year, 2 months and 20 days of Foreign Service.  He had participated in the Normandy and Northern France campaigns and was awarded the European African Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal and the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.

The applicant served on active duty in enlisted status in the Regular Air Force from 31 October 1946 until 10 September 1949, when he was honorably discharged in the grade of technical sergeant.  He was appointed a second lieutenant (permanent) in the Air Force Reserve on 22 September 1947 and served on active duty as a commissioned officer from 3 January 1951 until 2 June 1952, when he was honorably released from active duty in the grade of first lieutenant (with a date of rank of 2 April 1951).  Information maintained in the Personnel Data System reveals that, effective 17 May 1981, having been credited with 20 years and 4 days of satisfactory Federal service on 30 June 1962, the applicant was retired in the grade of major.  Service per 10 USC 1332 was 24 years and 4 years.  Service for basic pay was 40 years, 10 months and 21 days.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The Officer Promotion Management, AFPC/DPPPO, reviewed this application and recommended approval.  DPPPO indicated that requirements for promotion were governed by AR 605-12, Temporary Promotion in the Army of the United States.  Normally, officers were not recommended for promotion, nor were recommendations forwarded, or promotions approved by a commander exercising promotion authority unless a promotion vacancy existed under the jurisdiction of the commander concerned in the grade to which promotion was recommended.  In addition, officers were not recommended for promotion until they served the minimum time-in-grade requirements.  On 9 December 1944, AR 605-12 was amended to allow second lieutenants who had completed 18 months of service to be promoted to first lieutenant without regard to the Table of Organization or allotted vacancies.  This authorization was not to be used for the automatic promotion of all second lieutenants but was reserved for those denied merited advancement solely because they were not assigned to positions established for the higher grade.  After noting the untimeliness of the application and although there is no documentation available to support the applicant’s claim, based on a decision by the Board in a similar case in 1989, DPPPO believes that the applicant would have been promoted to the grade of first lieutenant either as a result of his internment or under the provisions of the terminal leave promotion program.  They therefore, recommended that the applicant’s records be corrected to show he was promoted to the grade of first lieutenant effective upon his release from active duty (Exhibit C).

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APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the Air Force evaluation and disagrees with the recommendation for promotion on the date of his separation.  He also disagrees that his application should be dismissed based on the doctrine of laches.  He believes that the provisions of AR 605‑12, as amended, 9 December 1944, would govern his promotion to first lieutenant.  If this is the proper conclusion, his promotion should have been effective on 10 January 1945, not 29 November 1945.  As to the unavailability of records for a promotion recommendation, this would seem impossible when one is in a prisoner of war camp and, upon liberation, as a participant in a massive reduction in force.  His service career and subsequent retirement are certainly no indication that, had circumstances been different, a recommendation would not have been forthcoming.

The applicant’s review is at Exhibit E.

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THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable injustice.

	a.  The applicant asserts he should have been promoted upon completion of 15 combat missions.  We are unaware of any official War Department policy or regulation that provided for such a promotion.  In addition, the Air Force has referred to a potential cause for promotion known as a “Terminal Leave” promotion, which required that the officer have held the grade of second lieutenant for 18 months and possess an Efficiency Index of 40 or higher.  While the applicant had held the grade of second lieutenant for the requisite period when he (presumably) was placed in a terminal leave status, there is no evidence to indicate that he met the required numerical efficiency index.  Finally, the applicant believes he could have been promoted based on his status as a POW.  However, we are aware that the policy announced by the War Department stipulated that only those individuals who had been absent from military control for 18 months or longer were eligible for a one-grade promotion.  There is no indication in the available record that the applicant met this eligibility criteria.  Notwithstanding the above, we are of the opinion that relief is appropriate in this case.

	b.  Given the circumstances of the applicant’s wartime service, there was a War Department policy under which his promotion to first lieutenant could have been effected as an exception to the rule that no promotion could be approved without the existence of an available position vacancy.  The applicant correctly notes that the governing regulation was amended on 9 December 1944 to authorize the submission of a recommendation for promotion to first lieutenant of any second lieutenant who had completed 18 months of service in the grade, provided the individual was qualified for, and worthy of, promotion.  The policy further provided that time served outside the continental limits of the United States would be counted as time and a half.

    c.  After reviewing the record before us, the Board believes relief is warranted, however, the Board majority is of the opinion that relief greater than that recommended by the Air Force is not appropriate.  The Board majority believes that while it is possible the absence of any promotion consideration at that time may have been the result of an oversight during a period of turmoil associated with repatriation and demobilization, at this late date and in the absence of a viable service record, there is no way to verify this fact for certain.  Nevertheless, in recognition of the applicant’s service to the Nation during a time of war, the Board majority believes that any doubt in this matter should be resolved in his favor by promoting him on the day before his separation.  By doing so, the Board majority believes he will be afforded proper and fitting relief based on the available evidence and circumstances of his case.  However, the Board majority does not find the evidence provided is sufficient to support a recommendation for promotion on 10 January 1945.  Therefore, the Board majority does not favorably consider that request.

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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that, effective 28 November 1945, he was promoted to the temporary grade of first lieutenant, Army of the United States (Air Corps); and, on 29 November 1945, he was honorably released from active duty in the grade of first lieutenant, rather than second lieutenant.

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The following members of the Board considered this application in Executive Session on 24 July 2001, under the provisions of AFI 36‑2603:

Panel Chair
Member
Member

Messers. XXX and XXX voted to correct the records, as recommended.  Mr. XXX voted to grant the applicant’s stated request but elected not to submit a minority report.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 March 2001, with
                 attachments.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPO, dated 29 May 2001.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 15 June 2001.
     Exhibit E.  Applicant’s letter, dated 23 June 2001, with
                 attachment.

                                   

AFBCMR 01-00982

MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

	Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of Section 1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed that:

	The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that, effective 28 November 1945, he was promoted to the temporary grade of first lieutenant, Army of the United States (Air Corps); and, on 29 November 1945, he was honorably released from active duty in the grade of first lieutenant, rather than second lieutenant.