RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-01012
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge  be  upgraded  to  honorable  under  medical
conditions.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was only given credible service of  9  months  and  27  days.   The
problems with his military career started on 5 January  1949  when  he
fainted and was diagnosed with a heart murmur.  From that date forward
he was in a medical hold status and awaiting  his  medical  discharge.
He  was  told  his  records  were  lost  several  times  delaying  his
separation from  active  duty.   He  finally  requested  a  separation
because he no longer wanted to wait for  his  medical  records  to  be
found,  after  more  than  six  months  of  waiting  he  accepted   an
undesirable discharge with the promise that it would be upgraded  when
his medical records were found.

He was never convicted by a civil court as written in the  reason  for
separation on his undesirable discharge.  Based on this information he
feels his records should be reviewed and his  discharge  corrected  to
reflect honorable under medical conditions as it should have  been  52
years ago.  These facts are currently  affecting  his  health  and  he
would like them corrected before he passes away.

In support of  the  appeal,  applicant  submits  a  statement  by  his
daughter.  Applicant's complete submission,  with  attachment,  is  at
Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force on 27 December 1948 in the
grade of private for a period of three years.  He was promoted to  the
grade of private first class (PFC) on 29 March 1949.

A letter from applicant’s commanding officer  dated  5 December  1949,
requests he be discharged prior to expiration term of service (ETS)  -
reason - convicted by Civil Court on charge of burglary and larceny.

A letter from the Clerk of Circuit Court dated 1 December 1949, states
applicant was indicted by the Grand Jury on 19  August  1949  and  was
arraigned in Circuit Court on 24 August, and plead not guilty.  Nature
of offense was a Felony.  Punishment which could have been imposed for
such an offense was one year to life.  He was paroled  for  one  year.
The expiration of his parole was 12 September 1950.  He  was  adjudged
to be a criminal, since the charge was Burglary and Larceny.

Records indicate he withdrew his plea of not guilty and  plead  guilty
and made an application for probation, which was granted.

On 13  December  1949,  the  commanding  general  ordered  applicant’s
discharge under the provisions  of  AFR  39-22  (Conviction  by  Civil
Court).   The  commander  stated   that   an   Undesirable   Discharge
certificate would be rendered and that a request  for  special  orders
effecting the discharge would include the request for reduction to the
grade of private.

The applicant, while serving in the grade of private,  was  discharged
from the Air Force on 23 December 1949 under the provisions of AFR 39-
22 (Conviction by Civil Court)  with  an  undesirable  discharge.   He
served 9 months and 27 days of total active service.  He had  60  days
lost time.

The Air  Force  Discharge  Review  Board  (AFDRB)  denied  applicant’s
request for an upgrade of his undesirable discharge to honorable on  5
April 1951.

Pursuant to the Board’s request, the Federal Bureau of  Investigation,
Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  indicated  on  the  basis  of  the  data
furnished they were unable to locate an arrest record (Exhibit C).

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

BCMR Medical Consultant states that his condition  did  not  interfere
with completion of the physically demanding basic training and at  the
time of his separation physical examination no cardiac  problems  were
recorded.  The significance of the murmur is unknown.  It  could  have
represented  either  underlying  heart  disease,  most   likely   from
rheumatic fever several years before entering  active  duty,  or  have
been  an  innocent  functional  heart  murmur.   In  either  case  the
applicant’s heart murmur noted nine days after  entering  active  duty
existed prior to service and did not interfere with the performance of
duty or cause his career to be cut short.  There is no evidence in the
personnel file that he was in a casual status or medical  hold  status
awaiting discharge for a medical disqualification, rather he completed
basic training and entered technical  school  before  he  went  absent
without leave (AWOL) and was arrested.  The applicant’s  heart  murmur
did not make him eligible for disability discharge  since  it  existed
prior to service, was not aggravated by  service  and  the  underlying
cause (unknown) did not interfere with duty.  If  such  an  evaluation
were pending  it  would  have  resulted  in  administrative  discharge
without compensation for existing prior to service  condition  without
service aggravation.  Regardless, the events of July 1949  leading  to
his subsequent  undesirable  discharge  rendered  him  ineligible  for
evaluation in the disability system even if he had  a  condition  that
would have otherwise warranted such evaluation.

Action  and  disposition  in  this  case  are  proper  and   equitable
reflecting compliance with Air Force  directives  that  implement  the
law.  Therefore, the BCMR Medical Consultant is of the opinion that no
change in the records is warranted.

A complete copy of the evaluation is attached at Exhibit D.

AFPC/DPPRS states that they believe the discharge was consistent  with
the  procedural  and  substantive  requirements   of   the   discharge
regulation.   Additionally,  the  discharge  was  within   the   sound
discretion of the discharge authority.  Therefore,  they  concur  with
the BCMR Medical Consultant and recommend denial  of  the  applicant’s
request.

A complete copy of their evaluation is attached at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The former member apologizes if his articles as a whole appear  to  be
somewhat excessive, he always strives to be prudent in his choices  of
material to articulate in his presentation.  However, trying to be  in
compliance  with  the  Information  Bulletin,  Upgrade  of  Discharge-
Clemency, he has been somewhat overwhelmed with the intricate  job  of
trying to keep everything relevant to his time in the  service,  which
was dramatically shortened much to his dismay, and at the same time to
cover a period of over 50 years  without  becoming  enigmatic  in  his
presentation.  It was a much larger task than he had figured  on.   He
hopes his choice of material will suffice.

Applicant's  complete  response,  with  attachments,  is  attached  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  injustice  with  respect  to  the  applicant’s  service
characterization.  Although no documentary evidence has been  provided
showing the actions taken to effect the applicant’s separation or  the
stated reasons for his discharge were erroneous, based on the evidence
provided, we believe some relief is warranted in this  case.   We  are
persuaded by the evidence provided that in  the  more  than  50  years
since his separation, the applicant has become a productive  and  law-
abiding citizen of his community.  Therefore, we believe the continued
imposition of an undesirable discharge would serve no useful  purpose.
Accordingly, on  the  basis  of  clemency,  his  discharge  should  be
recharacterized as general (under honorable conditions).   We  do  not
find upgrading the discharge to fully honorable would  be  appropriate
because of the short period of  time  the  applicant  served  and  the
seriousness of his misconduct.

4.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the existence of error or injustice with respect  to  the  applicant’s
request for a change to  the  reason  for  his  separation  to  “under
medical  conditions.”   We  have  noted  the  applicant’s   assertions
concerning his medical condition in 1949 and  do  not  find  they  are
substantiated by the evidence he provided or the  information  in  his
military personnel records.  Therefore, we agree with  the  assessment
by the BCMR Medical Consult concerning this issue and find we have  no
basis on which to favorably consider this portion of  the  applicant’s
request.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 23  December  1949,
he  was  discharged  with  service  characterized  as  general  (under
honorable conditions).

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board  considered  this  application,  in
Executive Session on 25 March 2004, under the provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                  Mr. Robert S. Boyd, Panel Chair
                  Ms. Beth M. McCormick, Member
              Mr. Albert C. Ellett, Member

All members voted to correct the records pertaining to  Docket  Number
BC-2003-01012, as recommended.  The following documentary evidence was
considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 3 Mar 03, w/atch.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  FBI Report.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, BCMR Medical Consultant, dated 18 Jul 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, AFPC/DPPRS, dated 20 Aug 03.
   Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 29 Aug 03.
   Exhibit G.  Applicant's Response, dated 4 Oct 03, w/atchs.




                                   ROBERT S. BOYD
                                   Panel Chair







AFBCMR BC-2003-01012
INDEX CODE:  110.00




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 on 23 December 1949, he
was discharged with service characterized as general (under honorable
conditions).





            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency