RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2002-03142
            INDEX CODE:  100.00


            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Applicant is the sister of a former servicemember  who  requests  that
the formerservice member’s records be corrected to  reflect  that  his
death was a homicide, rather than a suicide.

By amendment, the manner of  death  of  the  former  servicemember  be
changed from suicide to undetermined.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The Air Force concluded that her  brother  died  of  a  self-inflicted
gunshot wound to the head.  They never believed this  and  think  that
there was an effort on the part of the Air  Force  to  cover  up  what
really happened to her brother.

In  support  of  her  appeal,  the  applicant  provided  an   expanded
statement,  a  death  certificate,   autopsy   report,   and   witness
statements.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The former servicemember enlisted in the Regular Air Force  on  19 Oct
70.

On 20 Dec 71, while assigned  to  Phan  Rang  Air  Base,  Republic  of
Vietnam, the applicant was found dead at his  place  of  duty  with  a
gunshot wound to the head.

An AF Form 716, Certificate of Death, dated 20 Dec 71, indicated  that
the mode of death was homicide, but the circumstances surrounding  the
death were listed as unknown.

An Autopsy Protocol, dated 22 Dec 71, indicated that the servicemember
was found dead about 2130 hours on 20 Dec 71 with an M-16 rifle in his
hands.  There were no witnesses and nobody heard the  shot  or  shots.
The final anatomic diagnosis was a gunshot  wound  to  the  head  with
shattering  of  frontal  lobes,  edema,  and   widespread   petecchial
hemorrhage  of  the  brain.   He  was  also  diagnosed  with   alcohol
intoxication (0.155%).

A DD Form 1300, Report of Casualty, dated 10 Feb  72,  indicated  that
the former servicemember died of a non-battle death  as  a  result  of
gunshot wound to the head.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPW indicated that based on  a  thorough  review  of  the  former
servicemember's personnel records, there did  not  appear  to  be  any
reason to change the cause of death on the DD  Form  1300,  Report  of
Casualty.  The initial casualty report reported the death as a  "self-
inflicted gunshot  wound  to  the  head"  and  the  commander's  final
circumstances letter stated that the only  conclusion  that  could  be
drawn from the investigation was that servicemember's  death  resulted
from a self-inflicted wound.  Because of the medical and investigatory
questions that were raised,  they  recommend  that  the  Board  obtain
advisory opinions from the Air Force Surgeon  General  and  Air  Force
Office of Special Investigations.

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

The Medical Consultant recommended denial indicating that the  autopsy
results concluding that the entrance wound was in the right temple and
exit wound was in the left temple, the  description  of  the  relative
locations of  those  wounds,  the  photographs  showing  the  relative
position of the deceased's head to the bullet/shrapnel  holes  in  the
generator and the location of the blood pool were  consistent  with  a
conclusion that the applicant  sustained  his  gunshot  wound  in  the
position he was found, lying on the ground on his  back.   Whether  or
not the holes in the side of the  generator  and  the  shrapnel  found
inside were from the gun and shot that killed  the  deceased  was  not
otherwise confirmed.  Recoil from the firing of  the  rifle  would  be
expected to result in movement of  the  rifle  from  its  position  of
firing but not necessary to the extent of freeing his finger from  the
trigger guard.  Autopsy findings are  consistent  with  a  very  close
range gunshot.  The force of the shot would also have moved  the  head
from the position it was in when the shot was fired.   It  was  common
for many cases of suicide to be a surprise to friends and  family  who
had no idea that the victim was at risk.  In the Medical  Consultant's
opinion, the evidence  was  consistent  with  suicide  and  there  was
insufficient evidence to the  contrary  to  recommend  change  in  the
records.

A  complete  copy  of  the  Medical  Consultant's   evaluation,   with
attachment, is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant reviewed the  advisory  opinions  and  provided  a  detailed
response indicating that although her family  strongly  believes  that
the former  servicemember  did  not  commit  suicide,  they  would  be
satisfied with a change in the manner of death to undetermined because
of the conflicting information that was admittedly difficult to  clear
up given the age of the case.  They are asking the  Board  to  take  a
second look at the case and request  that  the  Board  pay  particular
attention to the position of the M-16.

Applicant's complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFOSI/IG indicated that the file was reviewed by  a  special  agent
from the Criminal Investigative Division.   To  the  extent  possible,
based on the documents in the file, he  provided  a  response  to  the
questions raised by the applicant, which is attached at Exhibit G.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant reviewed the additional advisory  opinion  from  HQ AFOSI/IG
and furnished a response indicating that it appears that  the  special
agent did not read her rebuttal statement or simply responded  to  the
wrong letter.  Also, the review did not give any final opinion on  the
method of her brother's death, which she feels should  have  been  the
ultimate purpose of the review.

Applicant's complete response is at Exhibit I.

_________________________________________________________________

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  corrective  action.   The
evidence of record indicates that the former servicemember  was  found
dead with a gunshot wound to his head.  While the Certificate of Death
showed the mode of death as homicide, the  autopsy  protocol  made  no
mention of the manner of death.  However, the initial casualty  report
and the notification to the servicemember's family indicated that  his
death was apparently the result of a self-inflicted gunshot  wound  to
the head.  After an exhaustive review  of  this  case,  we  found  the
manner of the servicemember's death to be  inconclusive.   There  were
several areas of concern to us, most notably were the  inconsistencies
in the statements of the witness who allegedly found the body, and the
absence of the AFOSI investigation, which we believe would  have  shed
much needed light on the circumstances surrounding the servicemember's
death.  In view of the above, and the level of uncertainty  concerning
the manner of the servicemember's death, we recommend that the  former
servicemember's Certificate of Death be amended to reflect the mode of
death as Undetermined, rather than Homicide.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to  FORMER  SERVICEMEMBER  be  corrected  to  show  that  the
Military Certificate of Death, dated 20 Dec 71, be amended to  reflect
the mode of death as Undetermined, rather than Homicide.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2002-03142 in Executive Session on 7 Oct 03, under the  provisions  of
AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Robert S. Boyd, Panel Chair
      Ms. Leslie E. Abbott, Member
      Mr. John B. Hennessey, Member

All members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.   The
following documentary evidence pertaining to  Docket  Number  BC-2002-
03142 was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 23 Sep 02, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPW, dated 16 Dec 02, w/atchs.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, Medical Consultant, dated 2 Jul 03,
                 w/atch.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 Jul 03.
     Exhibit F.  Letter, applicant, dated 8 Aug 03, w/atchs.
     Exhibit G.  Letter, AFOSI/IG, dated 4 Sep 03.
     Exhibit H.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 5 Sep 03.
     Exhibit I.  Letter, applicant, undated.




                                   ROBERT S. BOYD
                                   Panel Chair




AFBCMR BC-2002-03142




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 , be corrected to show that the Military Certificate
of Death, dated 20 Dec 71, be amended to reflect the mode of death as
Undetermined, rather than Homicide.







    JOE G. LINEBERGER

    Director

    Air Force Review Boards Agency