RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2002-01180
            INDEX CODE 107.00  131.00
            COUNSEL:  - Son

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His father’s grade of lieutenant be restored and  he  be  awarded  the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His father  was  involved  in  an  altercation  with  an  anti-Semitic
officer, resulting in a court-martial that cost him his rank  and  the
DFC. His father had distinguished himself in basic  training  and  was
given the opportunity to  proceed  to  officer  candidate  school  and
become a pilot in the Army  Air  Corps.  His  father  completed  pilot
training in May 43 and was assigned as a B-24 bomber pilot,  first  in
Sidney, Australia, and then in New Guinea, Morotai, and Manila. On one
of his father’s 31 missions, Japanese artillery  damaged  the  landing
gear of the plane, forcing his father to “belly land” the plane  on  a
Pacific island beach. Some crewmembers died in the crash  landing  and
his father sustained serious injuries. His father was awarded the  DFC
and, after  recovering  from  his  injuries,  resumed  flying  in  the
Pacific. Following receipt of  the  DFC,  an  individual,  possibly  a
captain, kept making anti-Semitic remarks to his father over a  period
of time. In 1945, his father, who had taken enough  insults,  attacked
and physically harmed this  individual.  His  father’s  commander  and
crewmembers testified in his behalf at the court-martial. Although  he
was reduced to sergeant and the DFC was taken away, he was allowed  to
continue serving and eventually received an honorable  discharge.  The
anti-Semitic captain was demoted to lieutenant.

He had always been led to believe that his father was discharged as  a
lieutenant and had simply lost the DFC. However, his  father  recently
revealed this story to him. He  wants  his  father’s  rank  and  medal
restored.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Except for a few charred documents, the  member’s  records  appear  to
have been destroyed during the 1973 fire  at  the  National  Personnel
Records Center. The following information was extracted from documents
provided by the applicant (the member’s son) at Exhibit A and  by  the
Air Force at Exhibit C.

The  applicant   originally   appealed   through   his   Congressional
representative on 10 Dec 01. On 11 Feb 02,  the  Army  Office  of  the
Judge Advocate General (JAG) advised the representative that they  had
reviewed all court-martial cases during 1940-1945 and were  unable  to
find a member matching  the  name  and  description  provided  by  the
applicant. The Army JAG further indicated they found no record of such
an individual with the Army  service  identification  number  provided
being court-martialed or sentenced for the offenses, or in the  manner
described.

The applicant subsequently filed appeals with both the Army Board  for
Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) and the AFBCMR around Mar 2002.

On 7 May 02, HQ AFPC/DPPPRA advised the applicant that the Army  could
not find any records of an individual with a name of or similar to his
father’s being court-martialed during the 1940-1945  period.  Further,
DPPPRA was unable to verify that his father  was  an  officer  in  the
military, was awarded the DFC, or was hospitalized in the  Philippines
for any injuries, especially those suffered in an aircraft crash.  The
available records reflect the following:

      The member was inducted on 3 May 43 and called to active duty in
the Army on 10 May 43. He was “acceptable for limited military service
only by reason of poor vision in  left  eye”  and,  shortly  after  he
entered active duty,  was  disqualified  physically  for  combat  crew
training on 26 Jul 43. The member arrived in the  Pacific  Theater  of
Operations (New Guinea, Southern Philippines, Luzon) on 12 May 44  and
served as a  radio  mechanic  with  various  Army  Air  communications
squadrons while in the Pacific Theater. The member was admitted to the
49th General  Hospital  on  23  Aug  45  in  Luzon,  Philippines,  for
“psychoneurosis, anxiety state, moderate, external  stress,  moderate,
predisposition mild.” He departed on 27 Nov 45 and arrived back in the
US on 14 Dec 45. The member was honorably discharged on 24 Dec 45 as a
corporal, the highest rank he held in the military.  He  received  the
World War II Victory Medal, the American Theater Ribbon, the  Asiatic-
Pacific Theater Ribbon with three Bronze Battle Stars, the  Philippine
Liberation Ribbon, the Overseas Service  Bars,  the  Meritorious  Unit
Award, and the Good Conduct Medal.

Based on the above, HQ AFPC/DPPPRA asked the applicant to withdraw his
application.  On 28 Jun 02, the applicant declined  and  advised  that
his father had further informed him that he (the father) had served in
the ---th Heavy  Bomber  Squadron  while  in  the  Pacific,  that  the
squadron was known as the Heavy Bomber Squadron from the Far East  Air
Force and was combined from  the  -th  and  the  ----h  squadrons.  He
further asserted his father claimed the poor vision in  his  left  eye
was the result of a crash in one of the airplanes he had been piloting
and he was subsequently limited for combat crew training.

On 18 Oct 02, HQ AFPC/DPPPRA informed the applicant that the -th and --
th Bombardment  Squadrons  did  not  combine  to  make  up  the  ---th
Bombardment Squadron. Further, the --  Bombardment  Squadron  did  not
even deploy overseas until Dec 44, the --- Bombardment Squadron was in
the Pacific area throughout World War II, and  the  ---th  Bombardment
Squadron was  not  deployed  overseas  until  12  May  45.  Historical
extracts  were  provided  to  the  applicant.  HQ AFPC/DPPPRA  further
indicated that, other than his father’s assertions, the applicant  had
provided no documentation substantiating the member was  a  pilot  and
awarded the DFC, was court-martialed and  subsequently  forfeited  the
medal and his grade, was ever in a plane crash, or any  of  the  other
claims.  The  applicant  was   again   asked   to   provide   official
documentation substantiating his father’s allegations or  to  withdraw
the application until such time as official documentation was located.


Since the applicant did not respond,  processing  of  his  application
continued.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPR notes the applicant has not provided  any  documentation
showing his father was an  officer  and  a  pilot,  awarded  the  DFC,
demoted by court-martial from an officer to enlisted rank, or involved
in an aircraft accident.  The member’s records show he was an enlisted
member throughout his active duty career, served as a radio  mechanic,
received the Good Conduct Medal, and  was  only  hospitalized  for  an
anxiety attack while in the Philippines. The member was never assigned
to a bombardment unit and the information  regarding  the  bombardment
units as related by the applicant  is  not  consistent  with  official
records.   The  applicant  has  not  provided  any  documentation   to
substantiate any of his claims regarding his father. The appeal should
be denied because the DFC was never awarded.

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

HQ  AFPC/DPPPO   recommended   denial   as   there   is   insufficient
documentation to support the applicant’s claim that his father was  an
officer.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Complete copies of the Air Force evaluations, with  attachments,  were
forwarded to the applicant on 16 May 03 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.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate
the  existence  of  error  or  injustice  to  warrant   awarding   the
applicant’s father the grade of lieutenant and the DFC. The  applicant
has provided no  persuasive  corroboration  to  confirm  his  father’s
recollection of events. The available records do not confirm that  his
father served as a pilot in the grade of lieutenant, was  awarded  the
DFC, or was ever court-martialed. What the existing documentation does
authenticate is that the applicant’s father was a decorated member  of
the Armed Forces of the United  States  who,  in  an  enlisted  grade,
served our country honorably in  the  Pacific  Theater  of  Operations
during World War II. Time may affect specific recollections,  but  the
applicant can be proud of his father’s service to our  country  during
an extraordinary period in history. As the applicant has  been  unable
to substantiate his assertions, we have no recourse  but  to  conclude
his application should be denied.

_________________________________________________________________

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 25 June 2003, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                  Mr. Philip Sheuerman, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Laurence M. Groner, Member
                  Mr. James E. Short, Member

The following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2002-01180 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 31 Mar 02, w/atch.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPR, dated 13 Jan 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 6 May 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 May 03.




                                   PHILIP SHEUERMAN
                                   Panel Chair