RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-02465
            INDEX CODE:  112.02

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED: NO

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His discharge record show that he was honorably discharged as a  Staff
Sergeant (SSgt) instead of as a corporal.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His Commanding Officer (CO) promised him that if he  attended  certain
training he would be promoted from corporal to Sergeant.  He  attended
the training and upon returning to his duty station found that he  had
a new CO.  The new CO promised he would check with the  former  CO  to
make sure he intended to promote the applicant.  During the time  this
was happening he was notified that his field  (base)  was  being  shut
down and that he  and  numerous  others  were  to  be  discharged  for
“Convenience of the Government.”  He was  told  that  everyone  to  be
discharged was to be promoted one step (Staff  Sergeant/SSgt  for  the
applicant) on “separation from service orders.”  When he did not  find
his name on the promotion list he immediately  contacted  his  CO  who
informed him that when he arrived at the headquarters he would  ensure
his name would be placed  on  the  list.   In  the  meantime,  his  CO
authorized an “indefinite delay enroute”  that  would  enable  him  to
spend some time at his home in Chicago until he was to report to  Fort
Sheridan for discharge.  Upon arrival at Fort Sheridan he  found  that
his unit designation (nomenclature) had been erased.  He was told that
the nomenclature had to be changed to the unit  designation  that  had
been on his “indefinite delay  enroute”  orders.   Those  orders  were
never returned to him and he subsequently does not know what outfit he
officially belonged to at the time of his  discharge.   He  tried  for
five years after discharge to get his promotions by working  with  the
Veterans Administration (VA), the American Legion and the Army Reserve
Headquarters, who informed him that his records had been destroyed  in
the fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NRPC) in St  Louis,
MO.  He recently was advised by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)  to
apply to the AFBCMR for relief.

In support of  his  appeal  the  applicant  had  provided  a  personal
statement, a letter from the VFW  to  the  applicant,  copies  of  his
honorable discharge certificate, his Enlisted  Record  and  Report  of
Separation, and copies of several  orders  indicating  travel  between
stations,  completion  of  training,  promotion  (to  Corporal),   and
discharge.

His appeal, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Army Air Corps  on  22  September  1942  and
entered extended active duty on 14 April 1943.  The  highest  official
grade held was Corporal.  He served  a  total  of  three  years,  five
months and six days of combined active  and  inactive  duty.   He  was
discharged for purposes  of  “demobilization”  effective  27  February
1946.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPWB recommends denial.  They state that  they  petitioned  the
applicant for additional  official  documentation  and  he  responded.
They informed the applicant, based on the documentation provided, they
can find no evidence that the applicant was ever promoted  to  Sgt  or
SSgt.  They therefore must assume that he was discharged in the proper
grade of corporal.

DPPPWB’s complete evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

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

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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.  After a thorough review  of  the
evidence of record and applicant's submission, we  are  not  persuaded
that his uncorroborated assertions, in and by themselves, sufficiently
persuasive to override the rationale provided by the Air Force.  Based
on the lack of official documentation and the applicant’s inability to
provide  such,  there  is  no  basis  on  which   to   grant   relief.
Consequently, we agree with the opinion and recommendation of the  Air
Force  office  of  primary  responsibility  and  adopt  the  rationale
expressed as the basis for our decision that the applicant has  failed
to sustain his burden of having suffered either an error or injustice.
 Therefore, in the absence of persuasive evidence to the contrary,  we
find no compelling basis to recommend granting the  relief  sought  in
this application.

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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.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2003-02465  in  Executive  Session  on  28  October  2003,  under  the
provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
      Ms. Sharon B. Seymour, Member
      Ms. Leslie E. Abbott, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Jul 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Available Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPWB, dated 27 Aug 03, w/atch.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 12 Sep 03.




                                   RICHARD A. PETERSON
                                   Panel Chair