RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBERS:  BC-2004-00913
            INDEX CODE 130.00
            COUNSEL:  None

            HEARING DESIRED:  No

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be promoted to the grade  of  captain  on  the  basis  of  being  a
prisoner of war (POW) during World War II (WWII).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He should have been given the higher grade since he was a POW.  He did
not know how to get this changed until his  daughter  checked  with  a
Congressman’s office.  He hopes this request is expedited due  to  his
ill health.

Included in the applicant’s appeal is a  5  Dec  02  letter  from  his
daughter to her  Congressman.   She  describes  her  father’s  actions
during the period in question and how he never had the opportunity  to
be promoted to captain.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is  at  Exhibit
A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Army Regulation (AR) 605-12, 17 Aug  44,  and  Change  1  in  Dec  44,
governed  requirements  for  officer  promotion   at   the   time   of
demobilization.   Normally,  officers   were   not   recommended   for
promotion, nor were recommendations forwarded or  promotions  approved
by a  commander  exercising  promotion  authority  unless  a  position
vacancy existed under the commander’s jurisdiction.  Officers were not
recommended for promotion until they served the minimum time in  grade
(TIG) requirements.  AAF Letter 35-252, 23 Jun 45, states the Army and
Navy adopted a policy of giving special consideration to an  immediate
one-grade promotion to POW commissioned officers  below  the  rank  of
colonel and who would have been promoted  but  for  their  capture  or
evasion.  Change 2 of  AR  60-12  authorized  the  recommendation  for
promotion without regard  to  TIG,  time  in  position,  and  position
vacancies.  It was
the responsibility of the commanders of all echelons  to  ensure  that
individuals  coming  under   this   classification   received   prompt
consideration for such promotion.

The applicant was an aviation cadet from 7 Apr 42 to 21  Apr  43.   He
was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant (2Lt) and entered active duty as a B-
24 pilot in the Army Air Corps on  22  Apr  43.  He  was  deployed  to
England in Oct 43.  He was promoted to 1st lieutenant (1Lt) on  3  Mar
44.

According to a telegram to his  mother,  the  applicant  was  reported
missing in action over Germany on 7 Jul 44.  He was interned as a  POW
in Germany.  A 30 May 45 War Department Battle Casualty  Report  noted
the  applicant  as  a  casualty  on  29  Apr  45.  [According  to  the
applicant’s daughter, the POW camp was  liberated  on  that  date--see
Exhibit A.]  He departed for the US in May 45 and arrived on 3 Jun 45.

A WD AGO Form 100,  Separation  Qualification  Record,  indicates  the
applicant was shot down and held as a POW for 10 months.

His WD AGO Form, Report of Separation, reflects he was  released  from
active duty on 20 Dec 45 after 2 years, 7 months and 18 days of active
service.  Additionally, he participated in the  Air  Offensive  Europe
and Normandy campaigns and received the  Distinguished  Flying  Cross,
three Air Medals, and  the  European-African-Middle  Eastern  Campaign
Medal.

A 14 Feb 46 letter advised former POWs like the applicant who were out
of the service to apply  to  The  Adjutant  General,  War  Department,
Reserve Branch in Washington DC for promotion to captain if they  were
still in the Reserve Corps, had 18  months  TIG  as  a  1LT,  and  had
attained a minimum efficiency index of 40.

In a letter dated 8 Jan 03,  the  National  Personnel  Records  Center
(NPRC) verified to the applicant that, in addition to the  decorations
listed on his separation certificate, he  also  was  entitled  to  the
Purple Heart, the POW Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.

The applicant originally applied to the Army Board for  Correction  of
Military Records on 25 Jul 03.  The Army forwarded the case to the Air
Force on 5 Feb 04.  His case was received by the AFBCMR intake  office
at Randolph AFB on 18 Mar 04.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPO asserts  their  review  of  all  applicable  regulations
regarding POW promotions and  the  applicant’s  record  and  found  no
documentation indicating he was recommended for promotion to
captain upon his return to military control or  that  he  should  have
been promoted under any other provisions in policy or law.  Therefore,
denial is recommended.

A complete copy of the evaluation, with attachment, is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant on 20 Aug 04 for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of
this date, this office has received no response.

_________________________________________________________________


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  the  applicant’s  submission,  we  are  not
persuaded he  should  be  promoted  to  the  grade  of  captain.   The
applicant’s contentions are duly noted; however, we do not find  these
assertions, in and by themselves, sufficiently persuasive to  override
the rationale provided by the Air Force.  His limited records  do  not
indicate he was recommended for promotion to captain, that he acted on
the 14 Feb 46 letter, or that he met the minimum efficiency index.  We
therefore agree with the recommendations of the Air  Force  and  adopt
the rationale expressed  as  the  basis  for  our  decision  that  the
applicant has not sustained his burden of having  suffered  either  an
error or an injustice.  In view of the  above  and  absent  persuasive
evidence to the contrary, we find no  compelling  basis  to  recommend
granting  the  relief  sought.   However,  this  decision  in  no  way
diminishes the applicant’s  contribution  and  personal  sacrifice  in
behalf of our country during a period of great peril.  We hope he  and
his family take great pride in the part  he  played  in  the  nation’s
history.

_________________________________________________________________

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 8 December 2004 under the provisions of  AFI  36-
2603:

                 Ms. Martha J. Evans, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member
                 Mr. Michael J. Novel, Member

The following documentary evidence relating to AFBCMR Docket Number BC-
2004-00913 was considered:

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Jul 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPO, dated 12 Aug 04, w/atch.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 Aug 04.





                                   MARTHA J. EVANS
                                   Panel Chair