PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            6 January 1999           
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-11930
				   AR1998014511

	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.  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr.	Thomas D. Howard, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr.	Luther L. Santiful		Member	
	Mr.	Curtis W. Barbee		Member	

	Also present, without vote, were:

	Mr.	Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Ms.	Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

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

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	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 that he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he served in an infantry division during World War II.  He further states that he was awarded the Expert Infantryman Badge and he should have been awarded the CIB.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted in the Army on 2 December 1942 and he successfully completed his training as a rifleman.

5.  His awards include the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon w/1 service star, the Purple Heart w/oak leaf cluster and the Expert Infantryman Badge.

6.  Information obtained from the applicant’s hospital admission card reveals that he was assigned to an infantry unit performing the duties of a rifleman when he was wounded in his leg as a result of hostile action in October 1944.  

7.  He was honorably discharged on 16 May 1945, after he completed 2 years, 5 months and 15 days of total active service.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the primary requirement for award of a decoration is that a formal recommendation be prepared and introduced into official military channels within 2 years of the act, achievement, or service to be recognized.  The sole exception to the 2-year time limit occurs when there is conclusive evidence that a formal recommendation was submitted but was lost, or through inadvertence was never acted on by proper authority.

9.  That regulation also provides that to be eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge, a soldier must be an Army infantry or special forces officer in the grade of colonel or below, or an Army enlisted soldier or warrant officer with an infantry or special forces military occupational specialty, who subsequent to 6 December 1941 has satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of a infantry, ranger or special forces unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat.

10. That regulation also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguishes himself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy; or while engaged in military operation involving conflict with an opposed armed force in which the United States is not a beligerent party.  

11.  Subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during World War II, the regulation governing the award of the Bronze Star Medal was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that he is entitled to the award of the CIB are supported by the evidence of record.

2.  He was assigned to an infantry unit performing the duties as a rifleman when he was injured as a result of hostile action by the enemy.  He is clearly entitled to award of the CIB and his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected accordingly.

3.  Likewise, inasmuch as he was qualified to receive the CIB, he was also qualified to be awarded the Bronze Star Medal under the revised regulatory criteria in effect at the time. 

4.  However, through an administrative oversight, he was not awarded the CIB or the Bronze Star Medal that he was entitled to receive.  Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to correct this error at this time.

5.  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 is entitled to the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

___tdh___  __lls___  ___cwb__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC98-110930/AR1998014511	
SUFFIX		
RECON	 	
DATE BOARDED	1999/01/06	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	 	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	 	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	 	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.  100.00		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.