RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-02178
                                             INDEX CODE:  107.00
      XXXXXXX                           COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX                           HEARING DESIRED:  NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  11 January 2007


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His mission on 26 September 1944, be considered a combat mission and  he  be
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was recommended for the DFC in 1944; however, the recommendation was  not
properly forwarded for review.   Since  they  were  fired  upon  during  the
mission and the aircraft sustained damage, the mission should be  considered
a combat mission.

In support of the appeal, applicant submits a recommendation from the  467th
Bombardment Group Historian, an account of the mission  from  the  applicant
and his right waist gunner.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is a former member of the Army Air Corps who served on  active
duty from 7 January 1943 through 6 December  1945.   During  the  period  23
July 1944 to 17  July  1944,  he  was  assigned  to  the  790th  Bombardment
Squadron, 467th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force, in England, as  a  B-24
Liberator, pilot.  During this period, he completed a total of 34  missions,
totaling 275 combat hours and was awarded the Air Medal, with Four Oak  Leaf
Clusters.

The DFC was established by Congress  on  2 July  1926  and  is  awarded  for
heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in  aerial  flight.
The performance of the act of heroism must be evidenced by voluntary  action
above and beyond the call of duty.

During World War II, the Eighth Air Force had an established policy  whereby
a DFC was awarded upon the completion of 35 heavy bomber missions and an  AM
was awarded upon the completion of every six heavy bomber missions.

On 19 August 1997, the Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council  (SAFPC)
considered the DFC recommendation package and disapproved the request  since
it did not meet the requirements for the DFC.  Applicant  submitted  another
request for the DFC on 23 December 2002.  On  27  January  2003,  the  SAFPC
Awards and Decorations Board determined the recommendation did not meet  the
minimum requirements for the DFC.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied and states,  in  part,  that
they honor the decision made by the SAFPC on 19 August 1997 and  27  January
2003.  Applicant has submitted several requests in the  past  for  award  of
the DFC; however, all  of  the  requests  were  disapproved.   The  decision
rendered on the applicant’s one-time  reconsideration  is  considered  final
and conclusive by the SAFPC and the Air Force Personnel  Center  Awards  and
Decorations Branch.

The AFPC/DPPPR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the  applicant  on  5
August 2005 for review and response.

In further support of the appeal,  the  467th  Bombardment  Group  Historian
provides a copy of a document which indicates the applicant was  recommended
for  award  of  the  DFC  by  the  790th  Bombardment   Squadron   and   the
recommendation was approved by the group board on 27 September 1944.

The complete response, with attachment, is at Exhibit E.

________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The SAFPC Director, reviewed the additional documentation submitted  in  the
applicant’s behalf and recommends the  applicant  be  awarded  the  DFC  for
extraordinary achievement on 26 September 1944.  The SAFPC Director  states,
in part, that the merits of applicant’s accomplishments fall well  short  of
the level warranting  the  DFC;  however,  based  on  the  strength  of  the
previously unsubmitted evidence, he is inclined to defer  to  the  real-time
judgment of applicant’s chain of command.

The SAFPC Director’s evaluation is at Exhibit F.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the additional evaluation was forwarded to the  applicant
on 8 September 2005 for review and response with 30 days.   However,  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.  Sufficient relevant evidence  has  been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice  warranting  award  of  the  DFC.   In  this
respect,  we  note  the  SAFPC  Director   has   reviewed   the   additional
documentation submitted with this appeal, some of which was not included  in
the original DFC recommendation, and recommends approval  of  the  DFC.   We
agree and adopt his rationale as the  basis  for  our  conclusion  that  the
applicant should  be  awarded  the  DFC  for  extraordinary  achievement  on
26 September 1944.  Therefore, we recommend his records be corrected to  the
extent indicated below.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that he  was  awarded  the  Distinguished
Flying Cross for extraordinary  achievement  on  26  September  1944,  while
serving as a B-24 pilot over Continental Europe.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2005-
02178 in Executive Session on 2 November 2005, under the provisions  of  AFI
36-2603:

            Mr. John B. Hennessey, Panel Chair
            Mr. Joseph D. Yount, Member
            Ms. Jean A. Reynolds, Member

All members voted to correct the records,  as  recommended.   The  following
documentary evidence was considered:

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 30 Jun 05, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 2 Aug 05.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 Aug 05.
     Exhibit E.  Letter, Robin Janton, dated 9 Aug 05, w/atchs.
     Exhibit F.  Memo, SAFPC, dated 22 Aug 05.
     Exhibit G.  Letter, AFBCMR, dated 8 Sep 05.




                                   JOHN B. HENNESSEY
                                   Panel Chair


AFBCMR BC-2005-02178




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 XXXXXXX, be corrected to show that he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement on 26 September
1944, while serving as a B-24 pilot over Continental Europe.







            JOE G. LINEBERGER
            Director
            Air Force Review Boards Agency