RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2006-02842
INDEX CODE: 107.00
COUNSEL: NONE
HEARING DESIRED: NO
MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 24 MARCH 2007
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her late husband’s records be corrected to reflect he was a Prisoner
of War (POW).
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
Her late husband was a POW.
In support of her request, the applicant provided a copy of her late
husband’s DD Form 214, Letter from the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records, Marriage Certificate and Death Certificate.
Applicant's complete submission, with an attachments, is attached at
Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The servicemember’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire
at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
The available records reflect the servicemember served on active duty
in the Air Corps (AC) of the Army of the United States (AUS) from 29
October 1941 through 23 October 1945.
_________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPFC recommends the requested relief be denied. AFPC/DPFC states
Title 38, Section 101 (32) (Attachment 1) defines a “former prisoner
of war” as “a person who, while serving in the active military, naval
or air service, was forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty
(A) by enemy government or its agents, or a hostile force, during a
period of war; or B) by a foreign government or its agents, or a
hostile force, under circumstance which the Secretary finds to have
been comparable to the circumstance under which persons have generally
been forcibly detained or interned by enemy governments during
periods of war.”
Per the Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Publication 1-02 (as amended
through 31 August 2005) defines “interned” as the “casualty is
definitely known to have been taken into custody of a non belligerent
foreign power as a result of and for reasons arising out of any armed
conflict in which the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged.”
Although the Joint Publication 1-02 definitions are not necessarily
intended to be statements of policy, the definitions are consistent
with the language of the 1919 Geneva Prisoner of War Convention and
other law-of-war treaties.
DPFC further states the National Archives does not have the
servicemember listed as a POW in their Records of World War II
Prisoners of War, 1942-1947. The Army Repatriation and Family Affairs
Division do not list the servicemember as POW in their database.
AFPC/DPFC evaluation, with attachments, is attached at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 3
November 2006, for review and response 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 an error or an injustice. We took note of the
documentation the applicant provided and her late husband’s limited
military records in support of her request to have his records
corrected to reflect he was a POW. The servicemember’s limited
military records do not indicate he was ever forcibly detained by the
enemy. The applicant did not provide any documentation to
substantiate her request for POW status for her late husband.
Furthermore, the National Archives and Army Repatriation and Family
Affairs Division do not have the servicemember listed as a POW. While
we are not unmindful or unappreciative of the servicemember’s service
to his Nation, in the absence of evidence substantiating the
servicemember was forcibly detained by the enemy as a POW, we find no
compelling basis to recommend granting the relief sought in 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 this application in
Executive Session on 24 January 2007 under the provisions of AFI 36-
2603:
Ms. Charlene M. Bradley, Panel Chair
Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member
Ms. Barbara R. Murray, Member
The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number
BC-2006-02842 was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 27 Oct 05, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Master Personnel Records.
Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPFC, dated 1 Nov 06, w/atchs.
Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 3 Nov 06.
CHARLENE M. BRADLEY
Panel Chair
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