Docket No: 2502-19 
Date: Ref Signature 



This letter is in reference to your application for correction of your Father’s naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found that the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 

Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 9 April 2020.  The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.  Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this Board.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your Father’s naval record, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 

Your Father enlisted in the Marine Corps and began a period of active service on 29 March 1943.  From the period beginning on 19 September 1944 to 24 May 1945, in accordance with his pleas of guilty, your Father received summary court-martial convictions (SCM) on three occasions for two specifications of unauthorized absence (terminated by apprehension), and conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.  On 1 March 1946, your Father received his fourth SCM conviction for theft.  He was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge (BCD).  On 30 April 1946, your father was discharged with a BCD, as a result of a court-martial conviction. 

The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors, such as your desire to upgrade your Father’s discharge and contention that your Father completed his contract and was unaware of the charges brought against him.  The Board noted you did not provide evidence, and your Father’s record does not contain evidence, to support your contentions.  The Board concluded that your Father’s guilty plea SCM convictions and subsequent BCD outweighed your desire to upgrade his discharge.  Accordingly, under the totality of the circumstances, the Board in its review discerned no probable material error or injustice in the discharge. 

It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken.  You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon the submission of new matters, which will require you to complete and submit a new DD Form 149.  New matters are those not previously presented to or considered by the Board.  In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.  Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.