| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mrs. Nancy Amos | Analyst |
| Ms. Joann H. Langston | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Raymond J. Wagner | Member | |
| Mr. Richard T. Dunbar | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his Report of Separation, WD AGO 53-55, be corrected to change his military occupational specialty (MOS) from Light Truck Driver to Infantryman, that he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Bronze Star Medal (BSM), and that the Ardennes campaign be added.
3. The applicant states that he was a truck driver, but only while he was stateside with the 901st Maintenance Engineers and for a short time overseas. Then he requested transfer to a combat unit and was trained as an infantryman. Supporting evidence is a 6 June 1945 letter from the applicant to his parents; a 24 September 1999 letter attesting to the fact he was assigned to Company A, 301st Engineer Combat Battalion; and a copy of the 1998 Company A, 301st Engineer Combat Battalion directory.
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 was inducted and entered active service on 9 July 1943. He arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 3 September 1944. He returned to the States on 31 August 1945. He separated on 31 January 1946.
His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that his MOS was Light Truck Driver and he received credit for the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns.
6. The applicant’s letter dated 6 June 1945 informs his parents that after reaching France they arrived at the city of Rennes and set up their shops. He got tired of that and asked for a transfer to a combat outfit. Two weeks later he was on his way to an infantry training depot at Compiegne, France where he took infantry training for 9 weeks. Then he headed for the front lines as an infantryman in the 417th Infantry Regiment of the 76th Division. When he got to the 76th Division’s headquarters, he was interviewed and, due to his earlier assignment to an engineer outfit, he was sent to the 301st. One of their truck drivers was missing in action so he took his place. After they got through the Siegfried Line, they continued across Germany, usually as a spearhead with Patton’s tankers. They bridged rivers and fixed roads, cleared mines and blew out roadblocks. He got his first chance to be in an assault boat across the Moselle when they took the 417th Infantry across. Four engineers and 12 infantrymen were in a boat. They were there to take the boats back again. Next day they took their trucks across and again spearheaded with the tanks.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards. In pertinent part, it 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. It also provides for 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.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp for service for 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty in Germany between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955.
9. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 shows that the 301st Engineer Combat Battalion, 76th Division was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (redesignated the Presidential Unit Citation in 1966) for action from 7 through 12 February 1945, that it was awarded occupation credit for Germany for the period 2 May through 4 September 1945, and that it received campaign credit for the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Board accepts as sufficient the evidence provided by the applicant to show he was assigned to Company A, 301st Engineer Combat Battalion, 76th Division.
2. However, despite the applicant’s training as an infantry soldier, there is no evidence to show that his MOS was changed to an infantry MOS or that he participated in combat as an infantry soldier. As his 6 June 1945 letter shows, he was not assigned to an infantry unit; he was assigned to an engineer unit. He did not perform infantry duties; he continued to perform duties as a truck driver and also as an engineer. Therefore, the Board concludes that he is not eligible for award of the CIB or the BSM based upon award of the CIB.
3. Given the Board’s acceptance of the provided evidence which shows the applicant was assigned to the 301st Engineer Combat Battalion, his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be amended to show he received credit for the Ardennes-Alsace campaign and that he is authorized the Presidential Unit Citation and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp.
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended to show he was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp and that he received credit for the Ardennes-Alsace campaign.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__jhl___ __rjw___ __rtd___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
Joann H. Langston
______________________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001064268 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020226 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 100.05 |
| 2. | 100.00 |
| 3. | 107.0014 |
| 4. | 107.0015 |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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