RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:	DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2004-02729
		INDEX CODE:  107.00
		COUNSEL:  NONE
  
		HEARING DESIRED:  NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be awarded the Air Medal and his DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect the rank of sergeant.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He flew three missions.  He received the rank of sergeant and would like his DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect this rank.  

In support of his appeal, he provides a copy of his Report of Separation, individual flight record, a newspaper article and a copy of field order 696.  

His submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. 

_______________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s records were lost or destroyed and efforts at reconstruction have been, for the most part, unsuccessful.  The following is the only known information pertaining to the applicant's service and was extracted from the document provided by the applicant.  

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 15 April 1943.  He performed duty as an airplane armorer gunner.  Applicant’s Separation Qualification Record reflects the applicant held the grade of sergeant for approximately 14 months.  On 1 March 1946, he was honorably discharged in the grade of private, for the Convenience of the Government.  He was credited with 2 years, 7 months and 7 days of continental service and 3 months and 10 days of foreign service.  His discharge document shows he participated in the Air Offensive Europe campaign.  He was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater ribbon with one bronze star, Victory ribbon, American Theatre ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal.  He had 3 days’ lost time.  

________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied.  DPPPR states there is no evidence in the applicant’s military personnel records which support he was awarded the Air Medal (AM).  The applicant’s personal statement alone is insufficient to award him the Air Medal.  As requested by DPPPR, he did not submit the additional documentation to substantiate his entitlement to the AM.  The AFPC/DPPPR evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.

AFPC/DPPPWB recommends the application be denied.  DPPPWB states that due to the extremely limited records, and unreasonable delay, has greatly complicated the ability to determine the merits of his request.  In the absence of documentation, DPPPWB assumes he was discharged in the proper grade of private.

AFPC/DPPRS was unable to determine the propriety of the discharge based on the lack of documentation in his record (see Exhibit C). 

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 15 October 2004, copies of the Air Force evaluations were sent to the applicant for review and comment.  As of this date, this office has not received a response.  

________________________________________________________________

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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice.  We took notice of the applicant’s contention that he should be awarded the Air Medal.  After a thorough review of his submission and the available evidence of record, we are not persuaded that he should be awarded the Air Medal.  In addition to the applicant’s personal statement, he was asked to provide additional documentation to include recommendations for the AM from someone with firsthand knowledge of the act.  He did not provide this information.  Therefore, in the absence of such evidence, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant has not provided the necessary documentation to substantiate his claim.  

4.  With respect to the applicant’s request that his DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect the rank of sergeant, we took note of his separation qualification record which reflects the applicant did attain the rank of sergeant during his enlistment.  However, we also note that on 1 March 1946, his separation document reflects his grade as private with a remark that three days were lost under the Articles of War (AW) 107.  We note that the AW states, among other things, that AW 107 was used to cover desertion, AWOL, military confinement, civil confinement, drunkenness, fighting, sports and self-injury.  In view of this and in the absence of a showing that his loss time was in error, we have no basis to find that the applicant’s rank of private received at the time of his discharge is erroneous or unjust.  Accordingly, the applicant’s request is not favorably considered.   

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that the application was denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only be reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in Executive Session on 14 December 2004, under the provisions of AFI 36‑2603:

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR Docket Number 04-02729 was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 7 Jan 04, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letters, AFPC/DPPPR, AFPC/DPPPWB, dated 
                30 Sep 04.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 13 Oct 04.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 15 Oct 04.