RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2003-03194
            INDEX CODE:  110.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His undesirable discharge be upgraded to a general discharge.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was told that his 1954  undesirable  discharge  would  be  upgraded
within six months of his discharge.  He was allowed to  serve  in  the
Army from 1956 until he was honorably released in 1959.

In support of his request, the applicant  submits  copies  of  his  DD
Forms 214 from the Air Force and the Army.  The  applicant’s  complete
submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his enlistment in the Regular  Air  Force  on  30
October 1952.  He was progressively promoted to the  grade  of  airman
basic, with an effective date and date of rank of 30 January 1954.

On 27 May 1954, applicant was tried before a summary court-martial  at
March AFB, CA.  He pled guilty to the charge of failure to go  to  his
appointed place of duty, on or about 21  May  1954,  in  violation  of
Article 85, UCMJ, and for disobeying a lawful order, in  violation  of
Article 92, UCMJ.  He was found guilty and sentenced to confinement at
hard labor for 30 days and forfeiture of  $55.00.   The  sentence  was
approved by the convening authority.  At the time of the above  court-
martial, the applicant had two previous court-martial convictions  for
being Absent Without Leave (AWOL).  One  prior  special  court-martial
conviction was for being AWOL 13 October 1953 - 4 December  1953,  4-8
January  1954,  and  11-13 January  1954.   He  pled  guilty  and  was
sentenced to confinement at hard labor for five months and  forfeiture
of $50.00 per month for five months.  The sentence was adjudged on  26
January 1954.  The second summary  court-martial  conviction  was  for
being AWOL 7 June 1953  -  1  July  1953.   He  pled  guilty  and  was
sentenced to restriction for 30 days and forfeiture  of  $55.00.   The
convening authority approved the sentence on 9 July 1953.

On 19 July 1954,  the  applicant’s  commander  requested  a  Board  of
Officers be convened for the purpose of determining whether or not the
applicant  should  be  discharged  from  the  service  by  reason   of
unfitness.  The reason for this action was due to the applicant  being
court-martialed  on  three   different   occasions.    The   applicant
acknowledged notification of the commander’s initiated action  against
him; however, he waived his entitlement to appear before  a  Board  of
Officers  and  requested  discharge.   A  personal   affairs   officer
indicated he had interviewed and counseled  the  applicant  concerning
his rights.  On 9 August 1954, the discharge  authority  approved  the
recommended separation and directed that the applicant  be  issued  an
undesirable discharge.  He received an  undesirable  discharge  on  23
August 1954 under the provisions of AFR 39-17.   He  had  completed  a
total of 1 year, 1 month and 17 days and was serving in the  grade  of
airman basic at the time of discharge.  He had a total of 247 days  of
lost time.

Information extracted from  applicant’s  submission  reveals  that  he
contracted his enlistment in the United States Army  (Regular)  on  23
October 1956 in the grade of private  (E-1)  for  a  period  of  three
years.  On 23 October 1959, he was honorably released from active duty
and transferred to the United States Army Reserve.  He had completed a
total of 2 years, 11 months and 28 days and was serving in  the  grade
of private first class (temporary) at the time of separation.  He  had
a total of three days of lost time.

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/DPPRSP recommends the application be  denied.   DPPRSP  states
that there  are  no  regulations  or  directives  that  allow  for  an
automatic upgrade of a discharge within six months  or  any  timeframe
after a separation.  The applicant did not submit any new evidence  or
identify any errors or  injustices  that  occurred  in  the  discharge
processing.  Additionally, he provided no facts warranting an  upgrade
in his discharge.  The HQ AFPC/DPPRSP evaluation is at Exhibit D.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant  reviewed  the  advisory  opinion  and  indicated  that,
following basic training,  he  was  assigned  “KP”  duty  for  several
months, which resulted in going AWOL on several occasions.   He  would
turn himself in and receive his punishment.  After some time,  he  was
made an “MP” until his 23 August 1954 separation.  On 23 October 1956,
he enlisted in the Army and  served  honorably  for  over  two  years.
After leaving the service, he was self-employed for several years.  In
1981, due to medical problems, he  began  collecting  Social  Security
disability.  He remarried in March of 1986, has  three  children,  and
has been attending church for the last 13 years.

In support of his  request,  character  reference  letters  have  been
submitted.   The  applicant’s  complete  submission,  with   character
reference letters, is at Exhibit F.

_________________________________________________________________

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 probable injustice regarding the applicant's request that
his 1954 undesirable discharge be upgraded to  general.   No  evidence
has been presented which would lead us to believe  his  discharge  was
improper or contrary to the directive under  which  it  was  effected.
Nevertheless, in view of the applicant's 1956 honorable discharge from
the United States Army and his successful transition to civilian life,
as evidenced by the post-service documentation he  has  provided,  the
Board majority is  of  the  opinion  that  upgrading  the  applicant's
discharge  to  general,  based  on  clemency,  would  be  appropriate.
Accordingly,  the  Board  majority  recommends  that  the  applicant's
undesirable discharge be upgraded to general.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the  Department  of  the  Air  Force
relating to APPLICANT be corrected to show that, on 23 August 1954, 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 February 2004, under the provisions of AFI 36-
2603:

                  Mr. Robert S. Boyd, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Grover L. Dunn, Member
              Mr. Charlie E. Williams Jr., Member

By a majority vote, Messrs. Boyd  and  Williams  voted  to  grant  the
applicant's request.  Mr. Dunn voted to deny the  applicant's  request
but did not  desire  to  submit  a  minority  report.   The  following
documentary evidence was considered in connection with  AFBCMR  Docket
Number BC-2003-03194.

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 18 Sep 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  FBI Identification Record No. 363706C.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPRSP, dated 20 Oct 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 31 Oct 03.
   Exhibit F.  Letter from Applicant, dated 1 Dec 03, and
                  character reference letters.




                                   ROBERT S. BOYD
                                   Panel Chair



AFBCMR BC-2003-03194




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 APPLICANT be corrected to show that, on 23 August
1954, he was discharged with service characterized as general (under
honorable conditions).




            JOE G. LINEBERGER
                                        Director
                                        Air Force Review Boards Agency