RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-01482

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to a  general  (under  honorable
conditions) discharge.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He enlisted in the ---  National  Guard  on  March  9,  1954  and  was
discharged September 20, 1955 to go on active duty in the  Air  Force.
When he joined the ---- National Guard, he lied about his age changing
his birth date from October 23, 1938 to October 23, 1936.  He enlisted
in the Air Force on September 21, 1955 using the same  false  date  of
birth.  He received an honorable discharge on May 20, 1957 in order to
reenlist in the Air Force at which  time  he  corrected  his  date  of
birth.

Unfortunately, he fell in with a bad friend.  In  March  or  April  of
1958, this friend and he were  arrested  for  siphoning  gas  from  an
automobile, and placed in jail.  After spending several hours in jail,
he posted bail and was released on his own recognizance.  When he went
to court, he pleaded guilty to petty theft and  was  sentenced  to  15
days extra duty and his duty was changed from a  personnel  specialist
to hotel manager for the crews of incoming aircraft.

A couple of weeks later, he was called to the commander’s  office  and
was asked if he wanted out of the Air Force.  He asked  what  kind  of
discharge he would  receive  and  was  told  it  would  be  a  general
discharge under honorable conditions.  He told the commander he  would
like to think it over.  The commander gave him  about  15  minutes  to
think it over and left him in his office.  When he returned, he  asked
him what he had decided and he told him that he would take the general
discharge. In October 1969, he applied for  a  VA  loan  and  got  it.
Because he was retiring this year (2003), he  began  to  get  all  his
papers together and when he received  his  papers  from  the  Military
Personnel Center in St Louis, Missouri, he was  shocked  to  see  that
they had listed his discharge as undesirable.

He immediately contacted the VA and talked to  a  counselor.   He  was
told to fill out the DD Form 293.

Because all his personal papers were lost in a fire in Flora,  Indiana
in the early 1960’s and his military records  were  destroyed  in  the
1973 fire in St Louis, he is at  a  loss  in  validating  his  general
discharge.  He feels that the  undesirable  discharge  is  inequitable
because he never received  a  court  martial  or  any  other  type  of
disciplinary action during his 32 months of honorable service.  He was
discharged as an A/2c and was told that he  would  receive  a  general
discharge.

He has been a good citizen since his release from the  Air  Force  and
has never  been  arrested,  except  for  traffic  citations.   He  has
furthered his education by attending Seminary and has been ordained by
the Southern Baptist Convention as a Minister of Gospel.   He  made  a
mistake when he was 19 years old that he has regretted ever since.

In support of his appeal, the applicant submits a personal  letter,  a
copy of a certificate of his military service and a  copy  of  his  VA
Eligibility certificate.

Applicant’s complete application, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant's military personnel records were destroyed by fire in 1973.
 Therefore, the facts surrounding his separation from military service
cannot be verified.

Based on documentation provided by the applicant, he was discharged on
29 May 1958 with an undesirable discharge.

In  response  to  the  Board’s  request,   the   Federal   Bureau   of
Investigation (FBI)  indicated  that  the  basis  of  the  information
provided, they were unable to locate an arrest  record  pertaining  to
the applicant, which is attached at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPRS stated other than the applicant’s  statement,  he  did  not
identify any specific errors in the  discharge  processing.   However,
considering the discharge occurred over 45 years ago,  his  young  age
and lack of documentation to support the  discharge,  they  would  not
object to an upgrade to general (under honorable conditions) discharge
if a search  of  the  FBI  records  does  not  reveal  any  subsequent
convictions.


AFPC/DPPRS evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 30 May 2003, for review and comment within 30  days.   As
of this date, no response has been received by this office.

_________________________________________________________________

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 an error or injustice.  Based upon the presumption of
regularity in the conduct of governmental affairs and without evidence
to the contrary, we must assume that  the  applicant's  discharge  was
proper and in  compliance  with  appropriate  directives.   Therefore,
based on the available evidence of record, we find no basis upon which
to favorably consider this application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of probable  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 Docket  Number  BC-2003-
01482 in Executive Session on 3 September 2003, under  the  provisions
of AFI 36-2603:

                 Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Jackson A. Hauslein, Member
                 Mr. James W. Russell, III, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 5 May 03, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 15 May 03.
      Exhibit C. FBI Report, dated 6 Aug 03
      Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 30 May 03.




      BRENDA L. ROMINE
      Panel Chair