RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-00146
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

This application for  correction  of  the  records  of  APPLICANT  was
submitted by his daughter.


APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to honorable.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Her father recently had a stroke and his speech is  impaired.   He  is
unable to receive  treatment  at  a  Veterans  Affairs  (VA)  hospital
because of the type of discharge he received.

The applicant does not know much about her father’s life  because  her
parents divorced when she was young.  She is aware  that  he  received
his high school diploma in 1975;  that  he  coached  a  little  league
baseball team  in  1980;  and,  that  he  received  an  award  for  an
Occupational Training Course in 1994.  Her father was a  truck  driver
until he retired.  While retired and up until his stroke in May 02, he
traveled throughout the United States helping others.

In support of his request, the applicant submits  personal  statements
and copies of her father’s DD Form 214 and Statement of Service.   The
applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The former member contracted his enlistment in the Regular  Air  Force
on 11 Jun 51 for a period of four years.

On 30 Mar  56,  the  former  member  received  notification  that  his
commander was recommending he appear before a  board  of  officers  to
determine his fitness for continued service.   The  reasons  for  this
action are as follows:

      - Five (5) Article 15s:

(1) Failure to repair  on  31  May  54  and  4  Jun  54  -  punishment
consisting of two hours of extra duty for 14 days.

(2) Failure  to  repair  for  scheduled  formation  on  18  Sep  54  -
punishment consisting of a reduction in grade from airman third  class
to airman basic, with an effective date of rank of 24 Sep 54.

(3) Failure to repair on 1 Dec 55 - punishment consisting of two hours
of extra duty for 14 days.

(4) Unauthorized pass on 27 Feb 56  -  punishment  consisting  of  two
hours of extra duty for 14 days.

(5) Dereliction in the performance of duty on 7 Mar  56  -  punishment
consisting of two hours of extra duty for 14 days.

      - Three (3) Court-Martial convictions:

(1) Summary Court-Martial for failure to obey a lawful order on  1 Feb
52, in violation of Article 92, UCMJ; and, for  being  absent  without
leave AWOL during the period 1-5 Feb 52, in violation of  Article  86,
UCMJ.  On 15 Feb 52, the former member was sentenced to confinement at
hard labor for 30 days, forfeiture of $25.00 and a reduction in  grade
from private first class to private.  The sentence was approved by the
convening authority on 18 Feb 52.

(2) Special Court-Martial for being AWOL during the period of 6 Oct 52
- 16 Apr 53, in violation of Article 86,  UCMJ.   On  21 May  53,  the
former member was sentenced to a reduction in grade from airman  third
class to airman basic, confinement at hard labor for  six  months  and
forfeiture of $25.00 for six months.  The sentence was approved by the
convening authority on 25 May 53.

(3) Special Court-Martial for being disrespectful in  language  toward
his superior noncommissioned officer on 13 Mar  55,  in  violation  of
Article 91, UCMJ; and, for making a false official statement on 12 Mar
55, in violation of Article 107.  On 29 Apr 55, the former member  was
sentenced to confinement at hard labor for six months  and  forfeiture
of $60.00 for like period.  The sentence was approved by the convening
authority on 2 May 55.  By Special  Court-Martial  Order  Number  111,
dated 13 Jul  55,  the  unexecuted  portion  of  the  confinement  and
forfeiture sentence was suspended  for  six  months,  at  which  time,
unless the suspension was vacated, was to be remitted without  further
action.

On 12 Apr 56, the former member called his commander and stated he was
having difficulty obtaining money to post bail after being arrested by
civil authorities on a bastardy charge.

The Board of Officers convened on 13 Apr 56 at Chanute AFB, IL.  Since
the former member was confined by civil authorities and unable  to  be
present at this hearing, he was represented by legal  counsel.   After
considering the evidence and  testimony,  the  board  found  that  the
former member had repeatedly committed offenses against the UCMJ; that
he repeatedly shirked duties as a member of the military service; that
repeated attempts at rehabilitation had failed because of  the  former
member’s  apathetic  and  indifferent  attitude;  and,  that   further
attempts at rehabilitation would not appear justifiable  in  light  of
his  past  conduct  and  demonstrated  attitude  toward  his   service
obligations.  In view of the above  findings,  the  board  recommended
that the former member be discharged with an undesirable discharge for
unfitness.  The base legal office reviewed the findings of  the  board
and determined it legally sufficient to support  the  discharge.   The
former member received an undesirable discharge on 4 May 56 under  the
provisions of AFR 39-17 (unfitness).  He had completed a  total  of  3
years, 5 months and 15 days and was serving in  the  grade  of  airman
basic at the time of discharge.  The former member had a total of  252
days of lost time.

The former member’s requests for upgrade of his discharge  was  denied
by the Air Force Discharge Review Board (AFDRB) on 27 Aug  57  and  17
Oct 61.  His requests for a Waiver of Discharge for Enlistment in  the
Air Force was denied by the Air Force Personnel Board on 19 May 58 and
17 Oct 61.

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

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPRS recommends the application be denied.   Based  upon  the
documentation  in  the  former  member’s  file,  DPPRS  believes   the
discharge  was  consistent  with  the   procedural   and   substantive
requirements of the discharge directives in effect at the time of  his
discharge.   DPPRS  is  not  unsympathetic  to  the  former   member’s
situation and needs; however, the applicant did  not  submit  any  new
evidence or identify any errors or injustices  that  occurred  in  the
discharge processing.  The HQ AFPC/DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  applicant  on  14
Feb 03 for review and response.  A  copy  of  the  FBI  Identification
Record was forwarded  to  applicant  on  16  Apr  03  for  review  and
response.  As of this date, no response  has  been  received  by  this
office (Exhibit E).
_________________________________________________________________


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.   We  thoroughly  reviewed  the
former member’s record and the circumstances surrounding the discharge
in 1956.  In this respect, we note that due  to  the  former  member’s
misconduct, a Board of Officers convened to investigate the  pertinent
facts and circumstances to determine whether the former member  should
be discharged.  After considering  the  evidence  and  testimony,  the
Board  of  Officers  determined  that  the  former  member  should  be
discharged with an undesirable discharge because of unfitness.  We are
not  persuaded  by  the  evidence  presented   that   the   separation
characterization received by the former member should be changed.   We
also find insufficient evidence of error or  injustice  in  this  case
warranting an upgrade of the discharge on the basis of  clemency.   In
this regard, we considered the  former  member’s  overall  quality  of
service and the  events  which  precipitated  the  discharge  and  the
limited  information  concerning  his  activities  since  leaving  the
service.  On balance, we do not believe that  clemency  is  warranted.
While we are not  unsympathetic  toward  the  former  member  and  his
family, in view of the above, we find no basis on which  to  favorably
consider this application.

_________________________________________________________________

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 22 May 03, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Laurence M. Groner, Member
                  Ms. Jean A. Reynolds, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in  connection  with
AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2003-00146.

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 22 Jan 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  FBI Identification Record.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRS, dated 3 Feb 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letters, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Feb 03, and
               AFBCMR, dated 16 Apr 03.




                                   RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                   Panel Chair