RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-01391
            INDEX CODE:  110.02
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His  dishonorable  discharge  be  upgraded  to  general   (under   honorable
conditions).

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was drafted at an early age  and  feels  that  influenced  his  drinking.
That drinking carried on through most of his life and  got  worse.   He  now
wants to change his life.  He feels that  he  has  served  his  country  and
would like his discharge upgraded so that he may receive  medical  treatment
at the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) hospital.

In support of  his  request,  applicant  provided  a  Warrant  of  Executive
Clemency letter, and documents associated with previous attempts to  upgrade
his discharge.  His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The  applicant’s  military  personnel  records  were,  for  the  most  part,
destroyed by fire in 1973 at the National  Personnel  Records  Center.   The
relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted from his  available
military records, are contained in the letter prepared  by  the  appropriate
office of the Air Force at Exhibit C.

In response to the Board's request, the  Federal  Bureau  of  Investigations
(FBI)  provided  a  copy  of  an  investigative  report  pertaining  to  the
applicant (see Exhibit G).

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS, reviewed applicant’s request and  states  that  considering  the
fact that his discharge was over 55  years  ago,  if  a  check  of  his  FBI
records proves negative, clemency is recommended.  DPPRS  states  the  while
serving in the grade of private, the applicant was discharged on 23  Feb  47
and received a dishonorable discharge.   He  was  found  guilty  during  his
court-martial for stealing $75.

Based on the lack of  documentation  in  his  records,  DPPRS  believes  the
discharge was consistent with the procedural  and  substantive  requirements
of the discharge regulation and was  within  the  sound  discretion  of  the
discharge authority.  He did not submit any new  evidence  or  identify  any
errors in his discharge  processing.   However,  if  the  FBI  check  proves
negative, upgrade of his discharge to general  is  recommended.   The  DPPRS
evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that after being pulled away from his goal at  the  age  of
18 he started drinking as much as he  could.   While  he  was  in  technical
training he cut his drinking back to weekends only.  Once he arrived at  his
permanent duty station he did not have much to do  and  spent  most  of  his
time drinking.  He has no recollection of  the  incident  that  led  to  his
discharge.  He spent his time in confinement teaching to those who were  not
much beyond the ability to read or write.

He received a Warrant of Executive Clemency from  President  Eisenhower  and
thought that his discharge was changed until he was told  otherwise  by  the
DVA.

After he returned home, he worked his way  through  college  and  eventually
completed 2 years of grad school.    He worked various jobs  as  a  manager,
insurance and pension plans salesman, pharmaceutical detail man,  and  as  a
real estate salesman.  After his wife of 35 years divorced  him  he  started
attending rehabilitation programs and it has now been 5 years since  he  has
had a drink.

His complete submission is at Exhibit E.

On 2 July 2002, a copy of the FBI Report  was  sent  to  the  applicant  for
review and comment within 14 days.  As of this date, no  response  has  been
received.

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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.   After  careful  consideration  of  the
available evidence, we found no indication that the actions taken to  affect
the applicant's discharge were improper or contrary  to  the  provisions  of
the governing regulation in effect at the time, or that  the  actions  taken
against the applicant were based on factors other than his  own  misconduct.
In addition, in view of the contents of the FBI  Identification  Record,  we
are not persuaded that the characterization  of  the  applicant's  discharge
warrants an upgrade on the basis of clemency.   Having  found  no  error  or
injustice with regard to the actions that occurred while he was  a  military
member, we find that no basis  exists  to  grant  favorable  action  on  his
request.

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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.

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The following members of the Board  considered  Docket  Number  02-01391  in
Executive Session on 20 Aug 02, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Ms. Olga M. Crerar, Panel Chair
      Mr. John B. Hennessey, Member
      Mr. Michael K. Gallogly, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Dec 01, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 26 Apr 02.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 May 02.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 10 Jul 02.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBC, dated 2 Jul 02.
    Exhibit G.  FBI Investigative Report, dated 21 Jun 02.




                                   OLGA M. CRERAR
                                   Panel Chair