RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-00327

      XXXXXXX    COUNSEL:  NONE

      XXXXXXX    HEARING DESIRED: NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 6 AUGUST 2007


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His dishonorable  discharge  be  upgraded  to  a  general  (under  honorable
conditions) discharge.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was serving fifteen days in confinement for  going  AWOL.  He  had  seven
days to go when he escaped with five others. They separated into  groups  of
three, however, were caught eight hours later. They were  court-martial  and
received one year of confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

In support of his application, applicant provided  a  personal  letter,  and
post service letters.

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

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force as a private  for  a  period
of three years on 6 January 1948.

The applicant, then a Private, was charged with one specification of  escape
from confinement in violation of Article  of  War  69.  The  general  court-
martial took place at Nagoya Air Base, Japan on   18 May 1950.  Pursuant  to
his pleas, the applicant was found guilty of escape. The  sentence  included
one-year confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The  convening  authority
approved his sentence as adjudged. Appellate review having  been  completed,
the final order was promulgated on or about 22 July 1950.

On 22 July 1950, the applicant  was  administratively  separated  under  the
provision of AR 615-364 with a dishonorable discharge. He served a total  of
2 years, 4 months and 12 days of total active military service.
Pursuant to the  Board’s  request,  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Investigation,
Clarksburg, WV, indicated on 14 April 2006,  that,  on  the  basis  of  data
furnished, they are unable to locate an arrest record (Exhibit E).


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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFLSA/JAJM recommends denial and states  the  applicant  is  not  contending
that a specific error has occurred which  requires  the  correction  of  his
court-martial  record.  Thus,  any  decision   regarding   the   applicant's
discharge status would be done as a matter of clemency. There  is  no  basis
for any relief as to the sentence. The  applicant's  escape  conviction  was
his fourth court-martial conviction (three summary and one  general  courts-
martial) in his  less  than  three  years  of  total  military  service.  He
committed the escape offense while serving his sentence at  the  Nagoya  Air
Base stockade on the last of his prior AWOL convictions. The  applicant  was
granted parole after serving approximately  eight  months  of  his  one-year
sentence.

While clemency is an option, there is no reason for the  Board  to  exercise
clemency in  this  case.  As  laudable  as  the  applicant's  post-discharge
contributions to family, workplace and local community may be, they  do  not
excuse or mitigate his dishonorable discharge conduct while serving  in  the
military.  Given  his  four  court-marital   convictions,   a   dishonorable
discharge properly characterizes and  describes  the  degree  to  which  the
applicant fell short of meeting the standard  of  conduct  required  of  all
military members - both then and now. The mere  passage  of  time  does  not
diminish that failure or transform the applicant's  conduct  into  something
it clearly was not -  honorable.  The  applicant  presents  no  evidence  to
warrant upgrading his discharge characterization, and does  not  demonstrate
an equitable basis for relief. In addition, his request, made more  than  55
years after the court-marital, is untimely.

AFLSA/JAJM complete evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 14 April 2006, for review and comment within 30 days.  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.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant's
complete submission in judging the  merits  of  the  case.   However,  after
thorough review of the evidence of  record,  it  is  our  opinion  that  the
comments of the office of the Air Force Legal Services Agency are  supported
by the evidence of record.  We find no evidence of error in  this  case  and
after thoroughly reviewing the applicant's submission, we do not believe  he
has suffered from an injustice.  We considered upgrading  his  discharge  on
the basis of clemency; however, due to the serious nature  of  the  offenses
committed, we believe that the characterization of his discharge was  proper
and in compliance with  the  appropriate  directives.   In  the  absence  of
persuasive evidence to  the  contrary,  we  find  no  basis  upon  which  to
favorably consider this application.

_________________________________________________________________

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  Docket  Number  BC-2006-00327
in Executive Session on 6 June 2006, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. James W. Russell III, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Elwood C. Lewis III, Member
                       Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member









The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 Jan 06, w/atch.
    Exhibit B. Applicant's Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C. Letter, AFLSA/JAJM, undated.
    Exhibit D. FBI Report, dated 8 May 06.
    Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Apr 06.





                                             JAMES W. RUSSELL III
                                             Panel Chair