PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           12 August 1999     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998013258

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Kenneth Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. James M. Alward		Member	
	Ms. Meta Waller		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states that he was with Company H, 304th Infantry Regiment during World War II, and is entitled to that award. 

4.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records.

5.   The applicant was inducted into the Army on 10 March 1944, served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, participating in three campaigns.  He returned to the United States in August 1945 and was discharged with the rank of Corporal at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation on 18 January 1946.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows his organization to have been Company H, 304th Infantry Regiment.  His military occupational specialty is shown as that of a duty NCO, MOS 566.  He was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Meritorious Unit Award, the World War II Victory Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars.  It does not show award of the CIB.  

6.  The applicant’s final payment work sheet (War Department Form 372A) shows that he received combat infantry pay in the amount of $6.00 from              1 January to 18 January 1946.

7.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an incentive to infantrymen.  The Expert Infantryman Badge was to be awarded for
attainment of certain proficiency standards or by satisfactory performance of duty in action against the enemy.  The Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded for
exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.  War Department Circular      186-1944 further provided that the Combat Infantryman Badge was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving with infantry units of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  Additionally, World War II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay. 
Therefore, soldiers had economic as well as intangible reasons to ensure that their records were correct.  Thus, pay records are frequently the best available source to verify entitlement to this award.

8.  Army Regulation 672-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that World War II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge are entitled to an award of the Bronze Star Medal.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available records do not show that the applicant was an infantryman.  Nonetheless, he received combat infantry pay, and consequently, should have been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Therefore, he is entitled to that award.  He is also entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.

2.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star Medal. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___rvo__  ___jma__  ___mw___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998013258	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990812	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.