RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2005-01522
                                             INDEX CODE:  107.00
      XXXXXXX                           COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX                           HEARING DESIRED:  YES


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  9 November 2006


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

1.    He be awarded the Airman’s Medal (AmnM).

2.    He be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He should be awarded the AmnM for his actions on  13  June  1953.   On  that
date, at K-47 Air Base, South Korea, he put his own life in  great  jeopardy
when he ran in front of his burning F-80C aircraft  despite  the  fact  that
1,200 rounds of 50 caliber automatic feed  ammunition  would  “cook-off”  as
soon as the fire reached the nose of the aircraft.  He did so  in  order  to
move the fire fighting crew that were standing in front of the nose  of  his
aircraft out  of  harms  way  as  they  attempted  to  extinguish  the  fire
consuming his aircraft.

He should be awarded the DFC for his actions  on  23  June  1952.   On  that
date, the wing  commander  turned  the  lead  of  the  group  to  him  after
experiencing radio trouble.  He adjusted the initial  attack  point  of  the
heavily defended target, i.e., Suiho Dam power generating complex, to  avoid
conflict with Navy aircraft involved in the mission  and  to  conserve  fuel
since the mission was at the maximum combat range for the 45 F-80s  involved
in the mission.  He then led the group on their  dive  bombing  attack  with
each aircraft releasing its full bomb load  on  one  pass,  as  insufficient
fuel precluded  a  second  pass.   Despite  intense  automatic  weapons  and
tracking barrage fire his bombs hit squarely on target as did those  of  the
following aircraft.  As a result, the  raid  severely  curtailed  electrical
output for much of North Korea.  Further, the mission was his 101st  and  11
of his West Point classmates that were assigned to the  8th  Fighter  Bomber
Wing were awarded the DFC for completion of 100 missions.

In support of the appeal, applicant submits a statement from General  Bennie
L.  Davis,  USAF  (Retired),  AmnM  and   DFC   narrative   recommendations,
statements from former member’s of the  36th  Fighter  Bomber  Squadron  who
flew on the  23  June  1952  mission,  and  a  listing  of  his  West  Point
classmates who, as lieutenants, received the DFC while flying with  the  8th
Fighter Bomber Wing.

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

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Regular  Air  Force
on 2 June 1950.  From 28 November 1951 to 16 July 1952, he was  assigned  to
the 36th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Wing, South  Korea,  as
an F-80 Shooting Star pilot.   An  AF  Form  11,  Officer  Military  Record,
contained in his records indicates that he completed a total of  100  combat
missions, totaling 132 combat hours.  On 7 May 1952, he was awarded the  Air
Medal (AM) for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial  flight
during the period 15 March 1952 to 6 April 1952.  On 30  May  1952,  he  was
awarded the  AM,  First  Oak  Leaf  Cluster  (AM,  1  OLC)  for  meritorious
achievement while participating in aerial flight during the period  7  April
1952 to 8 May 1952.  On 13 July 1952, he was  awarded  the  AM,  2  OLC  for
meritorious achievement while participating  in  aerial  flight  during  the
period 8 May 1952 to 23 June 1952.  He was  progressively  promoted  to  the
grade of colonel, effective and with a  date  of  rank  (DOR)  of  1 October
1973.  He retired in the grade of colonel on 1 August 1980.

The AmnM is awarded for heroism  involving  voluntary  risk  of  life  under
conditions other than those of actual combat against an armed enemy.

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.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied and states,  in  part,  that
the AmnM is awarded for voluntary risk of life not involving  actual  combat
and the applicant’s actions on 23 June 1952 were  previously  recognized  in
the AM he was awarded for numerous operational flights from 8  May  1953  to
23 June 1952.

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 10  June
2005 for review and response within 30 days.  However, as of this  date,  no
response has been received by this office.

Applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit E.

________________________________________________________________

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 error or injustice.  In  this  respect,  we  note  the
Airman’s Medal (AmnM) is awarded for heroism  involving  voluntary  risk  of
life under conditions other than those of actual  combat  against  an  armed
enemy.  After reviewing the documentation submitted  with  this  application
and noting the incident did not  involve  actual  combat  against  an  armed
enemy, we believe the applicant’s heroic actions on 13 June  1952  meet  the
criteria for the AmnM.   On  that  date,  the  applicant  emerged  from  his
burning F-80C aircraft after regaining consciousness  only  moments  earlier
from a crash landing and ran in front of the burning aircraft  to  move  the
fire fighting crew that were standing in front of the nose of  the  aircraft
out of harms way.  He voluntarily did so  without  hesitation  for  his  own
safety despite the fact that 1,200  rounds  of  50  caliber  automatic  feed
ammunition would “cook-off” in the direction of the fire  fighting  crew  as
soon as the fire reached the nose  of  the  aircraft.   The  applicant  also
requests award of the DFC for extraordinary achievement while  participating
in aerial flight on 23 June 1952.  On that date, the wing  commander  turned
the lead of the group over to him after  experiencing  radio  trouble.   The
applicant adjusted the initial attack point of the heavily defended  target,
i.e., Suiho Dam power  generating  complex,  to  avoid  conflict  with  Navy
aircraft involved in the mission and to conserve fuel since the mission  was
at the maximum combat range for the 45 F-80s involved in the mission.  As  a
result of his extraordinary leadership, the raid was successful  in  heavily
crippling North Korean electrical power for the remainder of  the  war.   In
view of this, we believe he should be  awarded  the  DFC  for  extraordinary
achievement.  The  applicant  states  that  as  the  squadron’s  Awards  and
Decorations Officer during the period in question, he felt it  to  be  self-
serving and unprofessional to insure action was taken to  recommend  himself
for the AmnM and DFC, assuming his predecessor would do so.  He also  states
that during the ten remaining days of his combat tour he flew 10  additional
combat missions and had little time to follow-up on  the  actions  taken  by
the new squadron’s Awards and Decorations officer.  In view  of  the  above,
and noting the supporting statements from senior  Air  Force  officials,  we
believe the interest of justice can best be served by resolving this  matter
in  the  applicant’s  behalf.   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:

      a.    On 14 June 1952, he was awarded the Airman’s Medal  for  heroism
involving voluntary risk of life at K-47 Air Base, South Korea, on  13  June
1952.

      b.    On 24 June 1952, he was awarded the Distinguished  Flying  Cross
for extraordinary achievement while participating in  aerial  flight  on  23
June 1952.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2005-01522
in Executive Session on 7 December 2005, under the  provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Ms. Kathy L. Boockholdt, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Terry L. Scott, Member
                       Mr. Michael J. Maglio, Member

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

     Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 25 Mar 05, w/atchs.
     Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
     Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 2 Jun 05.
     Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MIBR, dated 10 Jun 05.




                                  KATHY L. BOOCKHOLDT
                                  Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2005-01522




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:

            a.   On 14 June 1952, he was awarded the Airman’s Medal for
heroism involving voluntary risk of life at K-47 Air Base, South Korea, on
13 June 1952.

            b.   On 24 June 1952, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on
23 June 1952.









JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

Air Force Review Boards Agency