RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-03470 (Case 2)
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His general discharge be upgraded to an honorable discharge.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He made a great mistake at the time and is sorry for it.  He just  got
mixed up with the wrong guys and did not recognize it.

Three years after his discharge from the  Air  Force,  he  joined  the
Marine Corps Reserve (1952 - 1955).  Following his honorable discharge
from the Reserve of the  Marine  Corps,  he  went  into  the  Merchant
Marines on 17 Feb 56.

He has been married for 46 years, has  no  police  record  and  has  a
perfect driving record.

In support of his request, the applicant submits a personal statement,
a copy of a letter of appreciation, dated 26 Jan 49, and a copy of his
honorable discharge certificate from the Reserve of the Marine  Corps.
The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his enlistment in the Army Air Force (AAF) on  22
Jul 46 for a period of 3 years.

On 5 May 48, applicant was tried before  a  general  court-martial  at
Wright-Patterson AFB.  He was found guilty of the  following  charges:
(1) On or about 1 Apr 48, in violation of the 94th Article  of  War  -
“feloniously take, steal, and carry away”  an  A-2  flying  jacket,  a
value of about $8.15; and, (2) On or about 1 Apr 48, in  violation  of
the 96th Article of War - “feloniously receive, have and conceal” an A-
2 flying jacket, a value of about $8.15, and a pair of green gabardine
summery flying coveralls, a value of about $12.88.  On 17 Jun 48,  the
applicant was sentenced to confinement at hard labor for three  months
and forfeiture of $25.00 per month for a like  period.   The  sentence
was approved by the convening authority on 4 Aug 48.

The applicant was in confinement from 29 Apr 48 to 19 Aug  48  and  he
was Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from 24 Aug 48 to  25  Aug  48  for  a
total of 115 days of lost time.

He received a general discharge on 16 Nov 49 under the  provisions  of
AFR 39-10 (expiration term of service  [ETS]).   He  had  completed  a
total of 3 years, 3 months and 24 days and was serving in the grade of
private first class at the time  of  discharge.   Applicant’s  highest
grade held was as a private first class.

Pursuant to the Board's request, the Federal Bureau of  Investigation,
Clarksburg, WV, provided an investigative report which is attached  at
Exhibit C.

Information extracted from the Personnel  Data  System  (PDS)  reveals
that in 1990, applicant applied to the Air Force Board for  Correction
of Military Records  (AFBCMR)  for  upgrade  of  his  discharge.   His
application was denied as untimely by the Board on  5 Oct  90,  Docket
Number 90-01962.  The applicant’s subsequent reconsideration  requests
were denied on 21 Oct 94, 7 Nov 95, 22 Sep 98, 21 Oct 98 and 8 Nov 01.
 The applicant’s case file for Docket Number 90-01952  is  unavailable
for review at this time.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS states that this case has been reviewed  for  separation
processing and there  are  no  errors  or  irregularities  causing  an
injustice to the applicant.  The separation complies  with  directives
in effect at the time of his discharge.  The applicant did not  submit
any new evidence or identify any errors or injustices that occurred in
the discharge processing.  He provided no other  facts  warranting  an
upgrade of the discharge.  However, under current directives,  members
who are separated on
their ETS are given honorable discharges.  Since the incident occurred
more than 50 years ago, DPPRS would not be  opposed  to  changing  the
applicant’s characterization of discharge to honorable if a  check  of
the FBI files proves negative.  The HQ  AFPC/DPPRS  evaluation  is  at
Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the advisory opinion and  the  FBI  report  and
provided an explanation of the FBI charges.  Specifically, the  charge
of auto larceny, he did not know the car was stolen when  his  friends
came to pick him up and he drove the car.   The  theft  by  contractor
charge was dismissed as he did not steal anything.  As to the issue of
worthless checks, the  paycheck  he  received  and  deposited  in  his
account bounced; therefore, his checks bounced.

With regards to the court-martial charge, he was  living  off-base  at
the time when some friends asked him to hold the flying jackets for  a
couple of days because  they  were  going  to  send  the  items  home.
However, they got caught before they could send  the  items  home  and
everyone went to the stockade.  He has regretted his  mistake  for  54
years.  He was only 18 years old at the time it  happened  and  should
have had more common sense.  He is a member of the American Legion and
the 8th  Air  Force  Historical  Society.   The  applicant’s  complete
submission is at Exhibit F.
_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing  law
or regulations.

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice.  The applicant  did  not  provide
persuasive evidence showing the information in the discharge case file
was erroneous, his substantial rights were  violated,  his  commanders
abused their discretionary authority, or that his service warranted  a
better characterization than the one he received.  After reviewing the
applicant’s record and the circumstances surrounding the discharge, we
believe the evidence of record supports his discharge for  misconduct.
In addition, in view of the contents of the FBI Identification Record,
we are  unpersuaded  that  the  characterization  of  the  applicant’s
discharge warrants an upgrade to honorable on the basis  of  clemency.
In view of the foregoing and the lack of  documentation  showing  good
post-service conduct, we conclude that no basis  exists  to  recommend
favorable action on the applicant’s request.
_________________________________________________________________

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.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 10 Mar 03, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. David W. Mulgrew, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Laurence M. Groner, Member
                  Mr. Mike Novel, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in  connection  with
AFBCMR Docket Number 02-03470.

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, undated, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  FBI Identification Record.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 4 Dec 02.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 Dec 02.
   Exhibit F.  Letter from Applicant, dated 6 Feb 03.




                                   DAVID W. MULGREW
                                   Panel Chair