RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-02895
            INDEX CODE:  110.02

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His general discharge be upgraded to honorable  and  his  grade  of
master sergeant be reinstated.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He has no other evidence to furnish, since he knows of no witnesses
that would know what happened to  him.   The  only  witness  was  a
troubleshooter from the bank that picked up his  car  in  Arkansas,
but he passed away long ago.   During  his  court-martial,  he  had
asked the military  attorney  to  call  the  witness  to  have  him
testify, but he said there was no need because they were only going
to reduce him one grade and that he could go back to work.  He  did
not even call any character witnesses, which he had plenty.

In  support  of  his  appeal,  applicant  provided   his   personal
statements; a copy of his special court-martial proceedings; a copy
of his letter to his Congressman, dated 13 Apr 02;  a  letter  from
his Congressman, dated 19 Jun 02;  and  copies  of  DD  Forms  214,
Report of Separation, dated 13 Jul 53, 25 Jul 56, and 26 Apr 57.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit A.

___________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 18 Jul 40, applicant enlisted in the Regular Army (Air Corps/AC)
in the grade of private.  He was honorably discharged on 9  Aug  45
in the grade of technical sergeant and was credited  with  5  years
and 18 days of active duty service.  He enlisted in  the  Army  Air
Corps on 30 Oct 45 for a period of three years.  He had  continuous
honorable service and was promoted to the grade of master  sergeant
on 1 Jun 55.  Applicant entered his last  enlistment  on  26 Jul 56
for a period of six years.

On 22 Jan 57, applicant was convicted by Special Court-Martial  for
being absent without leave (AWOL) from 4 Nov to  22  Nov  56.   His
punishment consisted of a reduction in grade to airman first  class
and 90 days of confinement at hard labor (CHL).

On 22 Apr 57,  applicant  applied  for  a  hardship  discharge  for
financial reasons, under the provisions of  AFR  39-13.   The  Asst
Adjutant approved his application on 23 Apr 57.  On that same date,
the unexecuted portion of the CHL was remitted.

On 26 Apr 57, he was discharged under the provisions of AFR  39-13,
SDN 227, by reason  of  hardship,  with  service  characterized  as
general under honorable conditions.  He was credited with 7 months,
and 15 days active service (excludes 48 days of lost  time  due  to
AWOL and confinement).   Applicant’s  total  service  for  pay  was
16 years, 5 months, and 5 days.  His grade at the time of discharge
was airman first class, with an effective date and date of rank  of
26 Mar 57.

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

___________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS found that the  discharge  was  consistent  with  the
procedural and substantive requirements of the discharge regulation
in effect at the time.  Additionally, that the discharge was within
the sound discretion of the discharge authority.  They  also  noted
that the applicant did not submit any new evidence or identify  any
errors or injustices that occurred in the discharge processing  nor
did he provide any facts warranting an upgrade  of  his  discharge.
However, based on his past honorable wartime service and if he  was
separated today for the same reason, “Hardship,” he  would  receive
an honorable discharge.  They would not be opposed to upgrading his
characterization if a search of the FBI file does  not  reveal  any
subsequent convictions.

A complete copy of the evaluation is at Exhibit D.

___________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant provided a personal statement explaining the events which
took place  during  his  military  career  and  since  leaving  the
service.  He described his professional as well as personal  family
accomplishments.  In support of his appeal,  he  submitted  several
documents to substantiate his  accomplishments  since  leaving  the
service, along with letters of character reference and a copy of  a
previous request for enlistment (during the 1960 timeframe) to  his
Congressman.

Applicant’s complete submission is at Exhibit G.

___________________________________________________________________




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 an injustice.  In this regard, we  note  that  the
applicant was convicted by Special Court-Martial for  being  absent
without leave (AWOL) for 18 days.  In  view  of  the  circumstances
surrounding applicant’s absence from  duty,  the  majority  of  the
Board believes that his reduction from the grade of master sergeant
to airman first  class  is  unduly  harsh.   It  appears  that  the
applicant went AWOL because his family,  wife  and  nine  children,
were having financial problems and his wife’s health was not  good.
While we do not condone his misconduct, the majority of  the  Board
believes that under the circumstances, his reduction in  grade  was
harsh.  Therefore, the majority of Board recommends that so much of
the punishment, as pertains to  his  reduction  in  grade,  be  set
aside.

4.  Applicant has also requested that his discharge be upgraded  to
honorable.  Prior to the period of service under review, we note he
had five previous  enlistments  for  which  he  received  honorable
discharges and had served during WWII and the Korean War.  The  Air
Force, in response to the applicant’s request, states  that  if  he
was separated today for  the  same  reason,  “Hardship,”  he  would
receive an honorable discharge and, based on  his  prior  honorable
wartime service, they are not opposed to upgrading  his  discharge.
After reviewing applicant’s overall record of service and based  on
the fact that under today’s standards he would receive an honorable
discharge, we recommend approval of his request for an  upgrade  of
his discharge.

___________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to:

      a.  Set aside so much of  the  punishment  of  Special  Court
Martial Order No. --,  dated  18  April  1957,  Headquarters,  Crew
Training Air Force, (ATC), Randolph AFB  TX,  as  pertains  to  his
reduction from master sergeant to airman first class.

      b.  Show that on 26 April 1957, he was  honorably  discharged
in  the  grade  of  master  sergeant  and  furnished  an  Honorable
Discharge Certificate.

___________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket  Number
BC-2002-02895 in  Executive  Session  on  7  May  2003,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Mr. Joseph G. Diamond, Panel Chair
                 Ms. Kathleen F. Graham, Member
                 Ms. Dorothy P. Loeb, Member

All members of the Board voted to grant the applicant’s request  to
have his general under honorable conditions discharge  upgraded  to
honorable.  The majority  of  the  Board  voted  to  discharge  the
applicant in the grade of master sergeant.  Mr.  Diamond  voted  to
deny the applicant’s request to have the grade of  master  sergeant
reinstated.  The following documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 2 Sep 02, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  FBI Report of Investigation.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 10 Oct 02.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 Oct 02.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 7 Jan 03, w/atchs.
     Exhibit G.  Letter, Applicant, dated 20 Jan 03, w/atchs.




                                   JOSEPH G. DIAMOND
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR BC-2002-02895




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:

            a.  Set aside so much  of  the  punishment  of  Special
Court Martial Order No. --, dated 18 April 1957, Headquarters, Crew
Training Air Force (ATC), Randolph AFB, Texas, as pertains  to  his
reduction from master sergeant to airman first class.

            b.  Show that  on  26  April  1957,  he  was  honorably
discharged in  the  grade  of  master  sergeant  and  furnished  an
Honorable Discharge Certificate.





            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency