RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-00430
                             INDEX CODE 110.01  107.00
                             COUNSEL:  None

                             HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His 1946  Report  of  Separation  (WD  AGO  Form  53-55)  reflect  the
following changes:

            a.  Item 15 should reflect 5 feet 9 inches  instead  of  5
feet (See Statement of Facts).

             b.  Item  32  should  also  include  campaigns   in   the
Philippine Islands, Okinawa, Naha and Japan.

            c.  Item 36 should reflect a departure date of 24 Jan  46,
rather than 24 Jan 36, and an arrival date of 2 Feb 46, rather than  2
Feb 45 (See Statement of Facts).

            d.  Item 37, Foreign Service, should  reflect  1  year,  3
months and 23 days rather than 3 months and 23 days (See Statement  of
Facts).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The applicant contends he has been trying for over 50  years  to  have
the errors corrected. He provided a copy of a  27  Jun  47  letter  he
wrote to the  Office  of  the  Adjutant  General  in  Washington,  DC,
requesting Sections 15, 36 and 37 be corrected.

The complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The 1973 fire in the National Personnel Records Center  destroyed  the
applicant’s records, so no unaltered Report of Separation is available
from that source.  The applicant provided an annotated copy of his  WD
AGO 53-55 at Exhibit A.

According to the WD AGO 53-55 provided by the applicant,  he  enlisted
on 21 Jul 42 and entered active service on 1 May 43. He  departed  the
US on 10 Oct 44 and arrived overseas on 7 Nov 44.  The  form  reflects
that he departed overseas on 24 Jan 36, returned to the US  on  2  Feb
45, and was separated on 12 Feb 46.  Also, the form reflects  that  he
had 2 years, 9 months and 12 days of total active service, of which  2
years, 5 months and 19 days were continental service, and 3 months and
23 days were foreign service.

On 19 Mar 02, HQ AFPC/DPPPRA  invited  the  applicant  to  provide  an
unaltered copy of his  WD  AGO  Form  53-55  and  copies  of  official
documentation showing his overseas unit of  assignment  and  inclusive
dates of that assignment. However, the applicant only resubmitted  the
same package and indicated he did not know what a WD  AGO  Form  53-55
was or where to get one.

In a letter dated 2 May 02, HQ AFPC/DPPRSP forwarded a DD Form 215  to
the applicant, advising that Items 15, 26 [sic] and 27 [sic] of his WD
AGO Form 53-55 had been corrected.  However, the AFBCMR Staff  advised
DPPRSP that the Items in question are 36 and 37, not 26 and 27. DPPRSP
indicated they would administratively correct these errors  after  the
Board had concluded the case.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ  AFPC/DPPPR  notes  that  the  applicant  did   not   provide   any
documentation  to  substantiate  his  claim  for  additional  campaign
credit.  They also note that the “Unit Meritorious Service Plaque” and
“American Theater Service Medal” in Item 33 were typed on the  WD  AGO
53-55 at a later date, by a different  typewriter,  but  there  is  no
indication that these are official entries.  Without  the  applicant’s
unit of assignment and specific dates he was in the  Pacific  Theater,
DPPPR cannot determine the number of  campaigns  for  which  his  unit
received credit. Without a “clean” copy of his Report  of  Separation,
they cannot determine whether or not any additional awards  should  be
added, such as  the  American  Campaign  Medal.  The  separation  form
reflects campaign credit for Luzon and New  Guinea.   Campaign  credit
for Philippine Islands is for the period 7 Dec 41-10 May 42. Since the
applicant was not in the Pacific during this period, he would  not  be
eligible for this campaign, no matter what his unit of assignment was.
 There is no campaign credit for Okinawa, Naha  or  Japan.  Denial  is
recommended with regard to awards, decorations and additional campaign
credit.

A complete copy of the evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 10 May 2002 for review and comment within 30 days.  As of
this date, this office has received no 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.    Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice to  warrant  partial  relief.   We
note that HQ AFPC/DPPRSP administratively corrected  Item  15  on  the
applicant’s separation document, so this item no longer  requires  the
Board’s consideration.   DPPRSP  also  attempted  to  administratively
correct Item 36, Service Outside Continental US and Return,  and  Item
37, Total Length of Service. However, the  administrative  corrections
were erroneously made to Items 26 and 27 instead. Based on what appear
to be typographical errors, we recommend  that  the  departure/arrival
dates in Item 36 be corrected  as  the  applicant  requests.  We  also
recommend that his foreign service in Item 37 be changed to reflect  1
year, 3 months and 23 days. Further, based on the  applicant’s  active
duty entry date and his separation date, he had 2 years, 9 months  and
12 days of total active service. Since his foreign  service  has  been
increased, his continental service needs to be reduced from 2 years, 5
months and 19 days to 1 year, 5 months  and  19  days.  Therefore,  we
recommend his WD AGO 53-55 be amended as indicated below.

4.    The applicant’s request to include additional campaigns in  Item
32 of his WD AGO 53-55 was considered. However, we  do  not  find  his
uncorroborated  assertions,  in  and   by   themselves,   sufficiently
persuasive to override the rationale provided by the Air Force. He was
not in the Pacific during the  pertinent  period  for  the  Philippine
Islands campaign, and there is no campaign credit for Okinawa, Naha or
Japan. In view of the above and  absent  persuasive  evidence  to  the
contrary, we conclude this portion of the applicant’s appeal should be
denied.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that his WD AGO  Form  53-
55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation,  issued  in  conjunction
with his honorable discharge on 12 Feb 46, reflects the following:

      a.  In Item 36, Service Outside Continental US and  Return,  the
departure date is 24 Jan 46, rather than 24 Jan 36,  and  the  arrival
date is 2 Feb 46, rather than 2 Feb 45.

      b.  In Item 37, Total Length of Service, his Foreign Service  is
1 year, 3 months and 23 days, rather than 3 months and  23  days,  and
his Continental Service is 1 year, 5 months and 19 days, rather than 2
years, 5 months, and 19 days.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 9 July 2002 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. Vaughn E. Schlunz, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Michael V. Barbino, Member
                       Mr. Michael Maglio Member

All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.  The
following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR  Docket  Number  02-
00430 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 6 Feb 02, w/atchs
   Exhibit B.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPR, dated 11 Apr 02, w/atchs.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 May 02.




                                   VAUGHN E. SCHLUNZ
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR 02-00430




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     , be corrected to show that his WD AGO Form  53-
55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation,  issued  in  conjunction
with his  honorable  discharge  on  12  February  1946,  reflects  the
following:

           a.  In Item 36, Service Outside Continental US and  Return,
the departure date is 24 January 1946, rather than  24  January  1936,
and the arrival date is 2 February 1946, rather than 2 February 1945.

           b.  In Item 37, Total Length of Service, his Foreign
Service is 1 year, 3 months and 23 days, rather than 3 months and 23
days, and his Continental Service is 1 year, 5 months and 19 days,
rather than 2 years, 5 months, and 19 days.





   JOE G. LINEBERGER

   Director

   Air Force Review Boards Agency