MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            8 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048510

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. JoAnn H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. George D. Paxson		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
            records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, that his dishonorable discharge be upgraded to honorable.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he had nothing to do with the items missing from the warehouse that he was in charge of and that they did not belong there in the first place.  He also states that he does not know why the items were in his warehouse and that he intended to report a civilian for stealing but later found out that he was an informant for the criminal investigation division (CID).  He further states that he was not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted and believes that politics was the reason he was convicted.  

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were partially destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri which destroyed millions of service records.  However, the available records show:

He was initially inducted in Albany, New York on 8 February 1943 and entered active duty on 15 February 1943.  He served until he was honorably discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey in the rank of sergeant on 18 March 1946. 

On 6 April 1946, he enlisted in the Regular Army for a period of 36 months and assignment to Europe.  He departed for the European Command on 18 September 1946.

On 10 September 1948, while serving in the Free Territory of Trieste, he was convicted by a general court-martial of two specifications of stealing and selling government property and five specifications of stealing government property.  He was sentenced to confinement at hard labor for 2 years, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge.  

He was dishonorably discharged pursuant to a court-martial conviction on 2 February 1949 at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Hancock, New Jersey.  He had served 2 years, 5 months and 3 days of active service during the enlistment in question and had approximately 144 days of lost time due to confinement.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  Trial by court-martial was warranted by the gravity of the offenses charged.  Conviction and discharge were effected in accordance with applicable law and regulations, and the discharge appropriately characterizes the misconduct for which the applicant was convicted.

2.  The type of discharge directed and the reasons therefore appear to be appropriate considering the available facts of the case.

3.   In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jhl ____  __gp____  ___dh___  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048510	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/02/08	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	DD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1949/02/02	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	GCM	
DISCHARGE REASON	GCM	
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  675	144.6800/A68.00/DD	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.