PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:               15 February 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:       AR1999028239

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Member	
	Mr. Roger Able		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 and the National Defense Service Medal.

3.  The applicant states that his DD From 214 does not show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the National Defense Service Medal.  He also states that a fellow soldier who served with the applicant in the same company and regiment received the aforementioned awards.  In support of his application, the applicant submitted a 15 March 1999 statement from the fellow soldier and his Selective Service System Transcript of Military Record. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show he was called from inactive duty in the Army National Guard to active duty on 15 February 1952.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) shows that he served 8 months and 26 days of foreign service; however, the exact dates of the applicant’s service in Korea cannot be determined from the limited records available.  He was separated from active duty on 16 September 1953 and returned to the Army National Guard to complete his remaining service obligation.

5.  The applicant’s discharge document does not show the Combat Infantryman Badge or the National Defense Service Medal as authorized awards.  The applicant authenticated his DD Form 214 in his own hand on the date of his separation from active duty.

6.  There are no orders in the applicant’s records which show that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show the specialty in which the applicant served during his active duty or his assignment in Korea.  However, his DD Form 214 does show that his basic branch was infantry and that he served in Company B of the 35th Infantry Regiment.

7.  The applicant provided a statement from a fellow soldier who writes that he and the applicant served together in the same company in Korea and that he received the Combat Infantryman Badge “for being in combat.”  The fellow soldier also states that the applicant should have received the Combat Infantryman Badge also.  The fellow soldier’s Selective Service System Transcript of Military Record shows that his DD Form 214 listed the Combat Infantryman Badge as an authorized award.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes Army policy and procedures concerning awards.  Paragraph 8-6 provides for award of the CIB.  That paragraph states that there are basically three requirements for award of the CIB.  The soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat.  Specific requirements state, in effect, that an Army enlisted soldier must be have an infantry specialty, satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat.  A recipient must be personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through 14 August 1974, and 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during his service in Korea.

2.  The Board noted the statement by the fellow soldier which attests to the fact he and the applicant served in the same unit together.  However, there is no evidence and this statement does not indicate that the applicant served in an infantry duty position as a member of Company B of the 35th Infantry Regiment.  Also, an award of the Combat Infantryman Badge to one soldier does not dictate that another soldier is entitled to the same badge.  

3.  The Board also noted in this particular case that the applicant authenticated his DD Form 214 in his own hand attesting to the fact that he was not authorized award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Therefore, based on the foregoing and in the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary, the Board has determined that the applicant is not entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. 

4.  The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the National Defense Service Medal; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show the National Defense Service Medal 

5.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing the individual concerned was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

FE_____  KAK_____  RA______  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Fred Eichorn__________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999028239	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000215	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19530916	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	SR 615-363-5	
DISCHARGE REASON	PETS	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.