| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti | Analyst |
| Mr. Thomas B. Redfern | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Linda D. Simmons | Member | |
| Mr. John T. Meixell | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That his general discharge be upgraded to honorable.
APPLICANT STATES: That he had an unblemished service record in Korea. When he returned to the United States, his father’s health turned bad, and he went home on a 30-day leave. His father’s health improved, so he returned to his unit. Not a week later, he received a call from his mother telling him his father wouldn’t last through the night. He panicked and went Absent Without Leave (AWOL), and spent the last two months of his father’s life by his side. However, his conscience was and still is guilt ridden knowing that going AWOL was a mistake.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973. The following information was derived from the applicant’s separation document.
He enlisted in the Regular Army on 25 September 1950. He completed transportation school and was assigned to an engineer battalion in Korea.
He was discharged under honorable conditions (General Discharge Certificate) on 22 December 1952 under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-369. He had been awarded the Korean Service Medal and the Distinguished Unit Citation. He had 131 days of lost time (AWOL).
Army Regulation 615-369, then in effect, set forth the policy and procedures for the administrative separation of enlisted personnel for inaptitude and unsuitability. It provided, in pertinent part, for the discharge due to unsuitability of those individuals with character and behavior disorders, with mental deficiencies, and with apathetic, defective attitudes. When separation for unsuitability was warranted, a general discharge was required to be issued.
Army Regulation 635-208, in effect at the time, provided the authority for discharging enlisted personnel for unfitness. Separation action was to be taken when the commander determined that the best interest of the service would be served by eliminating the individual concerned and: reasonable attempts to rehabilitate or develop the individual to be a satisfactory soldier were unlikely to succeed; or rehabilitation was impracticable, such as in cases of confirmed drug addiction or when the medical and/or personal history indicated that the individual was not amenable to rehabilitation measures; or disposition under other regulations was inappropriate. Unfitness included frequent incidents of a discreditable nature with military or civil authorities and an established pattern of shirking. The regulation further provides that: "the setting of arbitrary standards, such a certain number of trials by courts-martial, as a prerequisite to administrative elimination as a test of 'effective rehabilitation' violates the concept of individual evaluation." If, after examination by a medical officer or psychiatrist, there appears to exist mental or physical disability that is the cause of unfitness, a board of medical officers will be convened. An undesirable discharge was normally considered appropriate; however, in unusual circumstances, a general or honorable discharge was authorized, as directed by the convening authority.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1. Without the applicant’s records, it is impossible to ascertain exactly what happened in his case.
2. While the applicant had 131 days of lost time, he was discharged for unsuitability.
3. Based upon the nature of the applicant’s discharge and the characterization of service he received, it must be presumed that the applicant’s father’s failing health and eventual death was taken into consideration by the separation authority. Otherwise, he would have been processed for unfitness and issued an undesirable discharge.
4. Since it would appear that the applicant’s characterization of service was mitigated by his family problems, it would be inappropriate to further upgrade that discharge.
5. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___jtm___ ___lds___ ___tbr___ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2002083291 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030501 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | A40.00 |
| 2. | A93.07 |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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