DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORD
X

2 NAVY ANNE

S

WASHINGTON DC 20370-510

0

ELP
Docket No. 5252-01
14 January 2002

From:
To:

Subj:

Ref:

Encl:

Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
Secretary of the Navy

(a) 10 U.S.C.1552

(1) DD Form 149 w/attachments
(2) Case Summary
(3) Subject's Naval Record

Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a

1.
former enlisted member of the Navy, applied to this Board
requesting, in effect, that his naval record be corrected to
show a more favorable type of discharge than the bad conduct
discharge issued on 8 February 1946.

The Board, consisting of Messrs. Hogue, Ivins, and McBride

2.
reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on
9 January 2002 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that
the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the
available evidence of record.
by the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and
applicable statutes, regulations and policies.

Documentary material considered

The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record

3.
pertaining to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice
finds as follows:

a.

Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all

administrative remedies available under existing law and
regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b.

Although it appears that Petitioner's application to

the Board was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the
interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and
review the application on its merits.

C .

Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps on 15 January
At the time of his enlistment,

1942 for four years at age 20.
he had completed seven years of formal education and attained
test scores which placed him in Mental Group IV.

d.

The record reflects that Petitioner served only four
During the months of April and May

months without incident.
1942, he was convicted by a deck court and received a
nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for two periods of absence over
leave totaling about 12 days.

e.

During the period from 7 August to 21 December 1942,

Petitioner participated in landing operations at Guadacanal,
where he served for more than four months in combat.
division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
medical record reflects that in October 1942, while on
Guadacanal, Petitioner injured his knee falling over a tree
stump.

During this period, he was advanced to PFC (E-2).

His
The

f.

On 30 June 1943 Petitioner was convicted by summary

court-martial of three instances of absence over leave totalling
Sentence imposed consisted
about 40 days and breaking arrest.
of 30 days of solitary confinement on bread and water with a
full ration every fifth day, and forfeitures of $25 pay per
month for six months.
was hospitalized on 25 July 1943 for benign malaria and returned
to duty in on 11 August 1943

The medical record reflects Petitioner

Q-

On 15 July 1943 Petitioner was reduced in rank due to
He served the next 12

his unfitness to hold the rank of PFC.
months without incident, during which he participated in
operations against Japanese forces at Cape Gloucester, NB from
24 March-23 April 1944.

h.

Petitioner was convicted by deck court in July 1944 for

failure to wear his shirt in a malaria zone.
reflects on 30 August 1944 he was found unfit for combat duty
due to chronic arthritis in the knee he hurt on Guadacanal and
he was transferred to the Naval Hospital at San Diego, CA.

The medical record

i.

On 23 May 1945 Petitioner was by convicted a second a
summary court-martial of absence over leave for about 19 days.

j. On 10 September 1945 Petitioner was convicted by

general court-martial of a 31 day absence without leave.

He was

2

On 14 September 1945 the convening

That board concluded that in spite of his favorable

sentenced to confinement for 33 months, total forfeitures, and a
bad conduct discharge.
authority reduced the confinement and forfeitures to 18 months.
Petitioner appeared before the clemency and restoration board on
19 January 1946 and rejected consideration for restoration to
duty.
combat record, his adjustment in the Marines had been poor and
The board recommended that the bad conduct
he was unreliable.
discharge be executed upon completion of one-third of the
sentence to confinement.
the Navy remitted the unexecuted portion of confinement and
directed execution of the bad conduct discharge.
so discharged on 8 February 1946.

On 23 January 1946, the Secretary of

Petitioner was

k.

With his application, Petitioner has submitted letters

A recent report from the
attesting to his good character.
Federal Bureau of Investigation states that in 1946 he was
convicted by civil authorities of carrying a concealed weapon
and sentenced to a fine of $25 or 10 days in jail.
other convictions of record.

He has no

CONCLUSION:

The Board further notes that Petitioner's

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants favorable
In this regard, the Board notes Petitioner's youth and
action.
immaturity, limited education, World War II combat service, and
letters of reference attesting to his good character and  
post-
service conduct.
misconduct was limited to absence over leave offenses, two of
which were over 30 days.
While the Board does not condone such
misconduct during a period of wartime, the Board notes that his
service in combat appears to have been exemplary.
believes that his combat service mitigates his overall
misconduct and also believes the knee injury on Guadacanal was
sufficiently severe to constitute an additional mitigating
In sum, Petitioner put his life on the line for his
factor.
country and the Board believes the sentence to a bad conduct
discharge, even if appropriate at the time, should now be
recharacterized as a matter of clemency.
concludes that it would be appropriate and just to
recharacterize the discharge to a general discharge under
honorable conditions.

The Board

Accordingly, the Board

3

RECOMMENDATION:

a.

That Petitioner's naval record be corrected to show

that he was issued a general discharge by reason of misconduct
on 8 February 1946 vice the bad conduct discharge actually
issued on that date.

That this Report of Proceedings be filed in

Petitioner's naval record.

b.

C .

That, upon request, the Department of Veterans Affairs

be informed that Petitioner's application was received by the
Board on 2 July 2001.

It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's

4.
review and deliberations, and that the foregoing is a true and
complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled
matter.

ROBERT D. ZSALMAN
Recorder

ALAN E.
Acting Recorder

GOLDSMIT+

Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6

5.
(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of
Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6
(e)) and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is
hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken
under the authority of reference (a),
Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.

has been approved by the

Executive

d