PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            21 August 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001056094

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. James E. Vick		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Mr. William D. Barr		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 that he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he should have been awarded the CIB because he was actively engaged in combat.  He also states that he was assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion and was subsequently attached to the 3rd Ranger Battalion.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55), a copy of orders awarding him the Good Conduct Medal and orders assigning him to the 1st Ranger Battalion.  

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) that destroyed millions of service records.  However, information contained in reconstructed records as well as the documents provided by the applicant show that he was inducted at Fort Snelling, Minnesota on 9 April 1941.  He completed his training and was transferred to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 19 February 1942.

5.  He arrived in the ETO on 2 March 1942 and was assigned to the 133rd Infantry.  He was subsequently transferred to the 1st Ranger Battalion as a private on 22 June 1942.  He participated in the Algeria-French Morocco, Tunisia, Siciliy and Naples-Foggia Campaigns.  He departed the Mediterranean Theater of Operations on 4 April 1944 and arrived back in the United States on 3 May 1944.

6.  On 3 July 1945, he was honorably discharged at Fort Snelling in the rank of staff sergeant.  He had served 4 years and 2 months and 25 days of active Federal service.  His military occupational specialty was listed as a supply noncommissioned officer (NCO) and he was awarded the Distinguished Unit Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. 

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 serves as the authority for decorations and awards.  It provides, in pertinent part, that the World War II (WW II) Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.  It also provides that the American Campaign Medal was awarded for service within the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946 for personnel permanently assigned outside the continental limits of the United States.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also establishes the criteria for award of the CIB.  It states, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for the CIB, an individual must be an infantryman with an infantry military occupational specialty (MOS) and must perform duty as an infantryman, as a member of an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period in which that unit was engaged in ground combat. Battle participation credit alone is not sufficient.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contentions have been noted by the Board; however, the available evidence of record fails to show that during his service, he held the MOS of an infantryman and that he performed the duties of an infantryman while engaged in ground combat against the enemy.  While the evidence shows that he was assigned to an infantry unit, it also indicates that he was performing the duties of a supply NCO.  Therefore, in accordance with the applicable regulations governing award of the CIB, he is not entitled to be awarded that badge.

2.  However, the applicant was entitled to award of the WWII Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal that he did not receive.  Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to award him those medals at this time.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the WWII Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

____be__  ___jev __  ___wb __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____James E. Vick______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001056094	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/08/21	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  157	107.0111/cib	
2.  112	107.0066/WWII VM	
3.  109	107.0063/ACM	
4.		
5.		
6.