BOARD DATE: 20 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160015743 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____x____ ____x____ ____x____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 20 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160015743 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _____________x____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. BOARD DATE: 20 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160015743 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests reconsideration of his request for the Combat Infantryman Badge. 2. The applicant states he received the Combat Infantryman Badge in Vietnam. He was an infantryman when he arrived in Vietnam near Cam Ranh Bay in 1969. The plane he arrived in received enemy fire and was forced to make an emergency landing on a small air strip near a village. He does not recall the name of the village or the air strip. He and other passengers on the plane guarded it on the air strip for 4 days and nights. a. Helicopters carried him and other Soldiers to the 4th Infantry Division headquarters. He volunteered for reconnaissance school which changed his military occupational specialty (MOS) from MOS 11B to MOS 11F. b. He lived in the jungles of Vietnam for a full year with the exception of rest and recuperation leave in Bangkok, Thailand. He performed "hawk-eyed missions," search and destroy missions, [setting up] kill zones, retrieving downed pilots, [supporting or establishing] radio relay stations, ambushes, etc. He states his company received a 3-day in country rest and recuperation for a confirmed kill. He left Vietnam in 1970 as a sergeant/pay grade E-5. c. He did receive a letter from a colonel in Washington, D.C. informing him there was no evidence of combat in his records. He has two questions he thinks should be answered. The first question, "What do you think I did in a reconnaissance platoon in 1969-1970?" The second question, "Was I even [there]?" 3. The applicant provides a reference letter dated 27 August 2016. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20100008515 on 2 September 2010. 2. He provides new evidence and argument warranting consideration by the Board. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 23 December 1968. 4. The applicant completed training and was assigned to Company E, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division stationed in the Republic of Vietnam. He arrived in the Republic of Vietnam on or about 2 June 1969. 5. On 17 May 1970, Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division published Special Orders Number 137 promoting the applicant to sergeant/pay grade E-5. By these same orders he was awarded primary MOS 11F and secondary MOS 11B. The effective date of his promotion was 10 May 1970. 6. General Orders Number 2560 issued by Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division on 23 April 1970 awarded him the Army Commendation Medal. On 22 March 2010, his Army Commendation Medal Certificate was reissued. The applicant's certificate states: …for meritorious achievement in support of allied counterinsurgency operations in the Republic of Vietnam while assigned to Company E, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. [The applicant] astutely surmounted extremely adverse conditions to obtain consistently superior results. Through diligence and determination, he invariably accomplished every task with dispatch and efficiency. His unrelenting loyalty, initiative and perseverance brought him wide acclaim and inspired others to strive for maximum achievement. 7. The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he remained assigned to Company E, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment throughout his tour in the Republic of Vietnam. The following data is shown in item 18 (Record of Assignments): Effective Date Duty MOS Principal Duty 18 June 1969 11B10 Scout Observer 6 December 1969 11B20 Senior Scout Observer 30 April 1970 31G40 Communications Chief 8. The applicant's official military personnel file does not contain orders awarding him MOS 31G or the Combat Infantryman Badge. 9. On 9 December 1970, the applicant was released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. The following information is contained on his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge): * served in the United States Army – Pacific for 1 year * service in Vietnam from 2 June 1969 to 1 June 1970 * no Combat Infantryman Badge 10. The applicant petitioned the Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. A lieutenant colonel responded to his inquiry on 7 June 2010 stating the criteria for the Combat Infantryman Badge included physical participation in active combat with enemy forces. He recommended the applicant provide verification he participated in active combat by submitting sworn statements from witnesses, S2/S3 journal entries, after-action reports, evaluation reports, a valor award citation or similar documents. The officer provided the applicant with the address for the National Archives. He stated when the applicant provided the requested evidence, his request would be considered. 11. On 7 June 2010, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command issued the applicant a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) adding the following awards to his original DD Form 214: * Army Good Conduct Medal * Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar * Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Machine Gun Bar * Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation 12. On 2 September 2010 the ABCMR considered the applicant's initial application acknowledging he was an infantryman, performing infantry duties in an infantry unit. The Board found there was insufficient evidence confirming he participated in active ground combat. His request for the Combat Infantryman Badge was denied. 13. The applicant provided a witness statement, dated 27 August 2016, and signed by Mr. Kenneth R.D. who knew the applicant from their service in Vietnam. The witness served in Vietnam from August 1969 to August 1970 and was assigned to the same reconnaissance platoon operating in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam as the applicant. Their base camp was Camp Enari at Flieiku and then Camp Radcliff near An Khe which the 1st Cavalry Division had earlier occupied. He and the applicant were from Missouri and occasionally talked about that. Their job in Vietnam was infantryman and their reconnaissance job was to gather [enemy forces] intelligence. Often they were sent out before the infantry line companies in their battalion. REFERENCES: Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the following policy guidance concerning awards, decorations, service medals and badges. a. The Combat Infantryman Badge has been authorized for qualified Soldiers in any of four conflicts: (1) World War II (7 December 1941 to 3 September 1945); (2) the Korean Conflict (27 June 1950 to 27 July 1953); (3) the Vietnam Conflict (which includes service in Vietnam (2 March 1961 to 28 March 1973 and qualifying service in Laos (19 April 1961 to 6 October 1962)), the Dominican Republic (28 April 1965 to 1 September 1966), Korea on the demilitarized zone (4 January 1969 to 31 March 1994), Grenada (23 October to 23 November 1983), Panama (20 December 1989 to 31 January 1990), and the Persian Gulf War (17 January to 11 April 1991); and (4) the War on Terrorism (which includes Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom; and Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom). b. There are basically three requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. 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. c. They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size. Additionally, Appendix V of U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Military Awards) states that during the Vietnam era the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11D, 11F, 11G, or 11H. d. Awards made by the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Army are announced in Department of the Army general orders. Awards of decorations, Army Good Conduct Medal and badges will be announced in permanent orders by the appropriate awards approval authority. Service medals and ribbons are administratively awarded to individuals who meet the qualifying criteria. During the Vietnam era special orders were issued by battalion or regimental commanders who had the authority to award the Combat Infantryman Badge. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant was an infantryman in an infantry unit serving in the Republic of Vietnam during a period when the Combat Infantryman Badge could have been awarded to Soldiers provided they met the criteria. Upon review, the applicant does meet the first and second criteria for this badge. 2. The applicant in his personal statement asked two questions: "What do you think I did in a reconnaissance platoon in 1969-1970?" And "Was I even [there]?" The evidence does show he was an infantryman, serving in an infantry unit in the Republic of Vietnam. The applicant's witness statement attests to the fact he and the applicant served together in an infantry unit performing infantry duties in a reconnaissance platoon. 3. However, the witness who provided the applicant with a statement did not discuss or identify any active combat actions or engagements that they undertook or participated in during their period of service. 4. The third criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge is personal active engagement with enemy forces normally documented in unit reports and by special orders. One's physical presence in a combat zone or hazardous duty area does not necessarily support actual engagement with enemy forces. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160015743 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160015743 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2