RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: 02-01506
            INDEX CODE 131.00 107.00
            COUNSEL:  BRENT WINTERS

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

In two applications to the Board, dated 3 April and May 2002, the  applicant
requests that he be retired from the Air  Force  Reserve  in  the  grade  of
major, rather than retired from the Regular Air Force  as  a  senior  master
sergeant (E-8), with back pay from 1979, and awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

_________________________________________________________________

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When he turned 62 years old in 1979,  he  should  have  received  pay  as  a
major, but instead received the retirement of an E-8.  He retired  from  the
Regular Air Force on 1 January 1963 and was promoted to the grade  of  major
in the Air Force Reserve on 1 July 1962.

He should have received the PH for being wounded in action during World  War
II when his B-17 aircraft was shot-down deep in enemy territory and  he  was
brutally beaten into a  senseless  condition  resulting  in  contusions  and
broken bones (i.e., broken jaw, face  and  head  lacerations,  and  multiple
bruises and contusions on his arms, legs,  and  buttocks),  prior  to  being
interned as a Prisoner-of-War (POW).

In support of the appeal, applicant submits his  personal  statement  and  a
statement from the former co-pilot of his aircrew.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant served on active  duty  as  a  second  lieutenant  during  the
period 23 October 1943 through 24 November 1945, as a B-17 bombardier.

While on a mission over Germany on 20 June 1944, his aircraft was shot  down
and he was captured and interned as a Prisoner-of-War (POW).

He was returned to United States control on 29 April 1945.

The PH is awarded for wounds received as a direct  result  of  enemy  action
(i.e., gunshot  or  shrapnel  wounds,  hand-to-hand  combat  wounds,  forced
aircraft bail out injuries, etc.) that required  or  received  treatment  by
medical personnel.  The criteria was later amended to  add  persons  wounded
or injured at the hands of their captors while held as POWs before 25  April
1952.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the letters  prepared  by
the appropriate offices of the Air Force at Exhibits C and D.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

AFPC/DPPRRP recommends the application be denied and states, in  part,  that
all criteria of the pertinent laws  (i.e.,  Section  8914,  8964  and  8961,
Title 10, United States Code) have been  met  and  no  error  or  injustices
occurred in the applicant’s retirement, grade determination, or  advancement
in grade action.  The applicant applied for voluntary  retirement  from  the
Regular Air Force as an E-8 and indicated that  he  did  not  desire  to  be
assigned to the Retired Reserve Section and placed on the United States  Air
Force Reserve Retired  List  in  his  Reserve  commissioned  officer  status
concurrently with his retirement as a Regular enlisted member.  Effective  1
January 1963, he retired in the grade of  senior  master  sergeant  and  his
orders indicated that the highest pay grade he held on  active  duty  was  a
second lieutenant.  Upon completion of 30 years  service,  he  was  eligible
for  advancement  to  the  grade  of  second  lieutenant;   however,   since
advancement to the grade of second lieutenant would result  in  his  receipt
of less retired pay, he was provided an opportunity to choose the grade  and
pay scale under which he would receive  retired  pay.   While  there  is  no
documentation in his records  to  indicate  what  his  exact  election  was,
according to the Personnel Data System, he elected not  to  be  advanced  to
the grade of second lieutenant.

The AFPC/DPPRRP evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied and  states, in  part,  that
the applicant’s Report of Separation shows that he received no wounds  as  a
direct result of enemy action.  In addition, his own  statement  shows  that
civilians, not his German  captors,  beat  him.   Furthermore,  he  has  not
provided any medical or personal  statements  to  substantiate  his  claims.
Although the  co-pilot  of  the  aircraft  has  provided  a  statement,  the
statement only testifies  to  the  extent  of  the  injuries,  not  that  he
witnessed the injuries being incurred.  As such, the  statement  is  not  an
eyewitness account.

The AFPC/DPPPR evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATIONS:

Complete  copies  of  the  Air  Force  evaluations  were  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 19 July 2002 for review and response within 30 days.   However,
as of this date, no response has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

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 warranting award of the PH.   The  applicant
contends he should be awarded the PH for wounds he received  when  his  B-17
aircraft was shot-down deep in enemy territory and he  was  brutally  beaten
prior to being interned as a POW.  As a result of the beating, his  jaw  was
broken, he received lacerations to his face and head, and  multiple  bruises
and contusions on his arms, legs, and  buttocks  –  all  of  which  required
medical treatment.  The Recognition Programs  Branch  recommends  denial  of
this request because  the  applicant  received  injuries  at  the  hands  of
civilians, not his German captors, as indicated in his  personal  statement.
We disagree.  In this  respect,  we  note  that  based  on  the  applicant’s
personal  statement,  it  is  apparent  the  German  soldiers  allowed   the
civilians to beat him.  While the applicant may not have been beaten by  the
German soldiers themselves, he was beaten while  under  their  control.   As
such, we believe his injuries  were  the  direct  result  of  enemy  action.
Therefore, we recommend he be awarded the PH.

4.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice  warranting  his  retirement  from  the  Air
Force Reserve in the grade of  major.   The  applicant  voluntarily  retired
from the Regular Air Force in the grade of senior master sergeant.   At  the
time of his retirement, he indicated that he did not desire to  be  assigned
to the Retired Reserve Section and placed on the  United  States  Air  Force
Reserve  Retired  List  in   his   Reserve   commissioned   officer   status
concurrently  with  his  retirement  as  a  Regular  enlisted  member.   His
retirement orders indicate the highest pay grade he held on active duty  was
a second lieutenant.  Upon his  completion  of  30  years  service,  he  was
eligible for advancement to the grade of second lieutenant;  however,  since
his advancement to the grade  of  second  lieutenant  would  result  in  his
receipt of less retired pay, he was provided an opportunity  to  choose  the
grade and pay scale under which he would receive retired pay  (i.e.,  senior
master sergeant or second lieutenant).  While there is no  documentation  in
his records to indicate what his election was,  the  Personnel  Data  System
indicates that he elected  not  to  be  advanced  to  the  grade  of  second
lieutenant.  In view of this, and since there has been no showing  that  any
errors or injustices occurred in the processing  of  his  retirement,  grade
determination, and advancement in grade action, we find no basis upon  which
to recommend favorable consideration of this portion of his application.

5.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been  shown
that a personal appearance with or without counsel will  materially  add  to
our understanding of the issues involved.   Therefore,  the  request  for  a
hearing is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple  Heart  for
injuries received in action against an enemy of the United States  during  a
mission over Magdeburg, Germany on 20 June 1944.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board  considered  Docket  Number  02-01506  in
Executive Session on 12 September 2002, under  the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Mr. Jackson A. Hauslein, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Carolyn B. Willis, Member
                       Mr. James W. Russell, III, Member













All members voted to correct the records,  as  recommended.   The  following
documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Forms 149, dated 3 Apr & May 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRRP, dated 14 Jun 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 19 Jun 02, w/atchs.
      Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 19 Jul 02.




                                   JACKSON A. HAUSLEIN
                                   Panel Chair
AFBCMR 02-01506




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 APPLICANT, be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple
Heart for injuries received in action against an enemy of the United States
during a mission over Magdeburg, Germany on 20 June 1944.








JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

Air Force Review Boards Agency