MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           21 September 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000043513

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

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. JoAnn H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Mr. Eric N. Andersen		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	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)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That his records be corrected to show he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).

APPLICANT STATES:  That since he has been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) he is entitled to award of the BSM.  He was a member of the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion and fought across Europe along with the other GIs of the battalion.  He was a rifleman, military occupational specialty (MOS) 745, in the Battle of the Bulge in the Mortar Platoon.  Then at his own request he was transferred within the same company to be a reconnaissance scout.

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

The applicant was inducted into the Army on 6 July 1943 and entered active duty on 20 July 1943.  His Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55, item 41 shows that he attended basic engineering training.  He arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 4 October 1944.  He departed the ETO on 28 February 1946 and was separated on 13 March 1946.  His WD AGO Form 53-55, items 31 and 33 do not list the CIB.  Item 30 shows his MOS as 733, Reconnaissance Car Crewman.

Army Regulation 600-45, then in effect, provided, in pertinent part, 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.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, now in effect, outlines basically the very same guidance.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 also states that the CIB was established during World War II to 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 badge was intended as an inducement for individuals to join the infantry while serving as a morale booster for infantrymen.  In developing the CIB, the War Department did not dismiss or ignore the contributions of other branches.  Their vital contributions to the overall war effort were noted, but it was decided that other awards and decorations were sufficient 

to recognize their contributions.  From the beginning, Army leadership have taken care to retain the badge for the unique purpose for which it was established.  There are basically three requirements for award of the CIB.  The soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, must be 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.  

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.  There is no record of evidence to show the applicant held MOS 745, rifleman, or performed duties as a rifleman on a regular basis.  He himself states that he served as a rifleman during the Battle of the Bulge, in a Mortar Platoon, not a Rifle Platoon.  The Battle of the Bulge was a time when many non-infantry units and non-infantry soldiers found themselves fighting their way, as riflemen, out of hazardous situations but only for a relatively short period of time.  

2.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant held MOS 733, Reconnaissance Car Crewman, an MOS not eligible for award of the CIB.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Board presumes that the applicant’s primary duties were not as an infantryman.

3.  The Board does not doubt the applicant’s word that he was awarded the CIB, although no orders are available and he provides no such orders.  However, the Board is also aware that some ineligible soldiers were awarded the CIB, most likely because the awarding authorities were not aware of the strict requirements for award of that badge.  That does not warrant the Board compounding such errors by correcting separation documents to add the CIB or the BSM based upon the erroneous award of said CIB.

4.  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

__JHL___  __CLG___  __ENA___  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000043513	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000921	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0014	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.