PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           6 December 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001063132

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		Member	
	Mr. Harry B. Oberg		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 reconsideration of his request for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states that he landed on Leyte in the Philippines and then was sent to Mindanao to join the 163d Infantry Regiment, Company C as a rifleman.  He landed with the unit on the island of Jolo as a rifleman and from there they went on many patrols searching out the enemy.  Afterwards, when the company needed medics, he volunteered to serve as a medic.  However, he was a rifleman first.  

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

5.  The applicant’s Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55, shows that he was inducted on 2 October 1944.  He arrived in the Southwest Pacific on          17 March 1945, departed on 2 July 1945, and separated on 20 October 1945.  It shows his arm of service was infantry and his military occupational specialty (MOS) was Rifleman.  (The MOS listed, “705,” appears to be a typographical error that should have reflected “745.”)  It shows he was awarded the “Medic Badge.”

6.  The applicant’s Separation Qualification Record, WD AGO Form 100, shows that he served 3 ¾ months in basic training, 2 months as a rifleman (MOS 745), and 4 months as a first aidman.  It summarizes his military occupations as “Rifleman:  Loaded, aimed and fired a rifle to destroy enemy personnel and to assist in capturing and holding enemy positions in combat areas and on front lines in the South Pacific” and “First-Aid Man.”

7.  In addition to the description of the CIB outlined in the Board’s 31 May 2001 Proceedings, Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  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.  That is exactly how the applicant’s WD AGO Form 100 describes his first duties.  The evidence of record shows that he was an infantryman, he served with an infantry unit, and he assisted in capturing and holding enemy positions in combat through loading, aiming, and firing a rifle to destroy those positions.  There is no time requirement on how long an infantryman must perform those duties.  The fact that he later became a medic does not negate the fact he earlier met the eligibility criteria for award of the CIB.

2.  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 awarding the applicant the Combat Infantryman Badge.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fne___  __tap___  __hbo___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Fred N. Eichorn
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001063132	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011206	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0111	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.