PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            09 SEPTEMBER 2003 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003085511

	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. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Member	
	Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		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 (CIB) and the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB), which the applicant refers to as the Expert Combat Infantryman Badge. 

3.  The applicant states that he was in the Normandy invasion with the 101st Infantry.  He participated in the battle of Metz where he received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army on    2 December 1943, and completed special training as a rifleman at Camp Blanding, Florida.  His WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Record) shows that he was an infantry instructor for 8 months and taught the use of the rifle, carbine, machine gun, Browning automatic rifle, first aid, chemical warfare, and infantry drill.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from September 1944 to  February 1945. 

5.  The applicant underwent medical board proceedings on 22 March 1945 and was determined to be unfit for duty because of a duodenal ulcer.  His medical records show that he was wounded in action by shrapnel in September 1944 (date not certain), treated at an aid station, and returned to the line without hospitalization.  His unit is shown as Company K, 101st Infantry Regiment,    26th Infantry Division.

6.  The applicant was discharged at Rhoads General Hospital in Utica, New York on 24 March 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Service) shows that he was an infantryman, that he was also a rifleman instructor, and that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, the Purple Heart, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.  His unit is shown as the 101st Infantry.

7.  On 10 January 1968 the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement.   

8.  The Unit Citation Campaign and Credit Participation Register shows that the 101st Infantry Regiment was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (now the Presidential Unit Citation) and the Citation in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for its actions while the applicant was assigned to that organization.

9.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an incentive to infantrymen.  The Expert Infantryman Badge was to be awarded for attainment 

of certain proficiency standards or by satisfactory performance of duty in action against the enemy.  The Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.  War Department Circular 186-1944 further provided that the Combat Infantryman Badge was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving with infantry units of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  Additionally, World War II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay.  Therefore, soldiers had economic as well as intangible reasons to ensure that their records were correct. 
Thus, pay records are frequently the best, available source to verify entitlement to this award.  The Awards Branch, Total Army Personnel Command, has advised in similar cases that, during World War II, the Combat Infantryman Badge was normally awarded only to enlisted individuals who served in the following positions:

    a.  Light machine gunner (604)
    b.  Heavy machine gunner (605)
    c.  Platoon sergeant (651)
    d.  Squad leader (653)
    e.  Rifleman (745)
    f.  Automatic rifleman (746)
    g.  Heavy weapons NCO (812)
    h.  Gun crewman (864)

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was an infantryman and served in combat with an infantry company.  He is entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  The applicant's service as an infantry instructor for 8 months and his combat service would appear to be justification for that award.  In this instance, the benefit of doubt should go to the applicant. Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Expert Infantryman Badge.

3.  The applicant is entitled to award of the Presidential Unit Citation and the Citation in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.  He is entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.  That award should be reflected in his records.

4.  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 was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Citation in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Bronze Star Medal. 

BOARD VOTE:  

__SLP __  __WTM__  __TAP __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___ Shirley L. Powell____ 
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003085511	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030909	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.