APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he received the rifleman military occupational specialty and was sent to Luzon, the Philippines, where his unit, Headquarters, Base Section Two, 4th Replacement Depot, was attacked.  He was involved in the defense of its position as a rifleman.  His company was cited for heroism and received a certificate for exemplary conduct in combat.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  The information herein was obtained from alternate sources.

The applicant was inducted into the Army on 20 January 1945.  He completed infantry basic training on 2 June 1945 and qualified for rifleman.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater (Philippines) from 30 July 1945 - 15 September 1946. His separation qualification record shows that after basic training, he served as a cook, mess sergeant, and chief steward.  He separated on 16 November 1946.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge to a soldier who is an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, who is assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and must actively participate in such ground combat.  Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award of the CIB.  In the establishment of this award, it was recognized that the infantryman continuously operated under the worst conditions and performed a mission which was not assigned to any other soldier or unit.  It would provide special recognition of the unique role of the Army infantryman, the only soldier whose daily mission is to close with and destroy the enemy and to seize and hold terrain.

The regulation also provides for the award of the BSM to members of the armed forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy.  A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  The applicant appears to have been assigned to a Replacement Depot, not an infantry unit whose daily mission was to close with and destroy the enemy.  The fact that he arrived in the Philippines too late to receive credit for any campaign (the time period for the Luzon campaign ended on 4 July 1945) tends to confirm this.

3.  While the applicant may have received basic infantry training, his separation record shows he never served as an infantryman.

4.  The applicant claims that his company was cited for heroism and received a certificate for exemplary conduct in combat.  This would not qualify him for a Bronze Star Medal as he did not receive personal recognition.

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

                       DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director