MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


	IN THE CASE OF:   
	


	BOARD DATE:       25  November 1998      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC97-10502

	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.



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.  (Note:  In the interest of time the applicant’s DD Form 293 was accepted in lieu of a DD Form 149.)

APPLICANT STATES:  His “seven months in the stockade” was “the only time [he] was in bad trouble” during his military service.  In support of his request he submits two statements attesting to his good character.  One of the individuals notes that “at this point in his life I feel he deserves help with his medical bills from the government.”

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He entered active duty on 30 July 1952 and was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment on 12 September 1954.

On 25 October 1954, while driving a truck in a convoy in Japan, the applicant struck and killed a Japanese national.  The applicant failed to stop following the accident.  Just prior to his 31 March 1955 court-martial for the accident the applicant, on 10 March 1955, was discovered with coffee which he had stolen from a ration warehouse; the court-martial charges were amended.

On 31 March 1955, in consonant with his plea, he was convicted by a general court-martial of wrongfully leaving the scene of an accident and larceny of government property.  His sentence included dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture, and confinement at hard labor for 18 months.  The confinement portion of the sentence was reduced by the convening authority to 6 months as part of a plea agreement.

On 24 September 1955, following his release from confinement, the dishonorable discharge was executed.

In 1959 the Army Board for Correction of Military Records denied the applicant’s petition to upgrade his discharge.  His request, at that time, was based on his desire to obtain an honorable discharge in order to reenlist.

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.  While the applicant’s conduct in the years since his discharge may have been without incident, his conviction and sentence by a general court-martial as a result of the vehicle accident which killed a foreign national was appropriate.

2.  The sentence was neither in error or unjust considering the seriousness of the charge.

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 the aforementioned 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

__jev______  __jns___  _rvo____  DENY APPLICATION




						Loren G. Harrell
						Director


INDEX

CASE ID
AC
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
YYYYMMDD
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR .  .  .  .  .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.