AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

 
DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2012-00448 
COUNSEL:  NONE 
HEARING DESIRED: NO 

IN THE MATTER OF: 
   
   
 
    
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 
 
1. He be awarded an additional Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) to his Air 
Medal (AM). 
 
2.  He  be  awarded  an  additional  Oak  Leaf  Cluster  (OLC)  to  his 
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 
 
He  left  Burma  before  they  got  around  to  issuing  orders  and 
believes he should have received an OLC to both the DFC and AM.  
At that time, it was customary to receive awards for every 100 
combat hours; at the 300th hour an AM would be awarded and at the 
400th hour a DFC would be awarded. 
 
In support of his request, the applicant provides a hand written 
note,  a  copy  of  his  WD  AGO  Form  100,  Separation  Qualification 
Record, and a document that shows his name, his unit, and lists 
the awards and decorations authorized to be worn. 
 
His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.  
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS: 
 
Applicant is a former member of the Army Air Force who served on 
active duty from 13 Apr 43 through 18 Oct 45, as a radio operator 
and  mechanic  and  participated  in  the  India-Burma,  China  and 
Central Burma battles and campaigns. 
 
The applicant’s WD AGO Form 100 indicates he completed a total of 
900 combat hours. 
 
The  applicant’s  discharge  certificate  reflects  he  received  the 
DFC with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster; a Good Conduct Medal, and 
an AM with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters. 
 
If the applicant’s official military personnel file was on file 
at  the  National  Personnel  Records  Center  (NPRC),  it  would  have 

been  in  the  area  that  suffered  the  most  damage  in  the  fire  on 
12 Jul 1973.   
 
The DFC was established in the Air Corps Act (Act of Congress, 
2 July  1926,  Public  Law  No.  446,  69th  Congress).  This  act 
provided for award “to any person, while serving in any capacity 
with the Air Corps of the Army of the United States, including 
the National Guard and the Organized Reserves, or with the United 
States Navy, since the 6th day of April 1917, has distinguished, 
or who, after the approval of this Act, distinguishes himself by 
heroism  or  extraordinary  achievement  while  participating  in  an 
aerial flight.”   
 
The  AM  is  awarded  to  U.S.  military and  civilian  personnel  for 
single  acts  of  heroism  or  meritorious  achievements  while 
participating in aerial flight and foreign military personnel in 
actual combat in support of operations. Required achievement is 
less than that required for the Distinguished Flying Cross, but 
must  be  accomplished  with  distinction  above  and  beyond  that 
expected of professional airmen. It is not awarded for peace time 
sustained  operational  activities  and  flights.  Approval  or 
disapproval authority is delegated to major command commanders or 
vice commanders for military and secretary of the Air Force for 
civilians  and  foreign  military  personnel.  MAJCOMs  will  identify 
the  missions  and  positions  that  qualify  for  this  award.  HQ 
USAF/XO must certify MAJCOM criteria. 
 
During the period under review, the Numbered Air Force to which 
the  applicant  was  assigned,  i.e.,  Tenth  Air  Force  had  an 
established policy of awarding a DFC upon the completion of every 
200  combat  hours  and  an  AM  upon  the  completion  of  every  100 
combat hours. 
 
The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are 
contained in the letter prepared by the appropriate office of the 
Air Force, which is at Exhibit C. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
AFPC/DPSIDR  recommends  denial.    There  were  no  additional 
decoration  elements  to  include  the  special  order,  signed 
certificate, and the citation nor were any documents located in 
the applicant’s military record.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 100 
reflects  he  had  900  hours  in  combat;  however,  it  cannot  be 
determined if the applicant has already received credit for all 
900 flying hours due to his records being damaged in the fire of 
1973.  The document provided by the applicant shows his name, his 
unit,  and  the  awards/decorations  that  are  authorized,  which 
reflects both the DFC w/1 OLC and AM w/2 OLC with Special Order 
GO-163, 11 July 1945.   
 

 

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The complete DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C. 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 
 
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the applicant 
on 10 Apr 12 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.  Sufficient  relevant  evidence  has  been  presented  to 
demonstrate  the  existence  of  error  or  injustice  to  warrant 
awarding  an  additional  DFC.    In  this  respect,  the  applicant's 
records  contain  a  WD  AGO  Form  100,  Separation  Document, 
indicating that he had a total of 900 combat hours while assigned 
to the 10th Air Force.  Based on the evidence of record and that 
provided  by  the  applicant,  it  appears  the  applicant  has  been 
awarded credit for 700 of the 900 hours of combat, based on the 
criteria at the time.  Therefore, in view of this, we believe it 
would be in the interest of justice to award him an additional 
DFC because his remaining 200 combat hours meet the criteria for 
this  recognition.    Therefore,  we  recommend  that  his  records  be 
corrected as 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  on  18  October 
1945,  he  was  awarded  the  Distinguished  Flying  Cross  for 
extraordinary  achievement  while  participating  in  aerial  flights 
as  a  radio  operator  and  mechanic  during  the  India-Burma,  China 
and Central Burma battles and campaigns. 
 
 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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The  following  members  of  the  Board  considered  AFBCMR  Docket 
Number BC-2012-00448 in Executive Session on 24 Jul 12, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 
 
 
All  members  voted  to  correct  the  records,  as  recommended.    The 
following documentary evidence was considered: 
 
    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 6 Feb 12, w/atchs. 
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. 
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated27 Mar 12. 
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 10 Apr 12. 
 
 
 
 
                                    
                                   Panel Chair 
 
 
 

 

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