| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | Senior Analyst |
| Ms. Karol A. Kennedy | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Melvin H. Meyer | Member | |
| Ms. Tracey L. Pinson | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to reflect award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, and two bronze service stars on his Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. He notes the decorations were omitted from his separation document.
3. The applicant's records were apparently lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources.
4. The applicant entered active duty in March 1943 and arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations in July 1943 where he was assigned to Company E, 4th Infantry Regiment as a rifleman (specialty 745). His War Department Adjutant General Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) indicates that the applicant participated in reconnaissance and combat patrols. He remained in the theater of operations until November 1943 when he returned to the United States. He was honorably discharged on 4 February 1946 as a result of demobilization.
5. There are basically three requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. The soldier must be an infantryman, assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and must have actively participated in such ground combat. The Awards Branch, Total Army Personnel Command, has advised in similar cases that, during World War II, the Combat Infantryman Badge was normally awarded to enlisted individuals who served in specialty 745 as a rifleman.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge for service during World War II. Award of the Bronze Star Medal, based on the Combat Infantryman Badge, is commonly referred to as a conversion award.
7. A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 indicates that the applicant's unit (4th Infantry Regiment) was credited with participation in only one campaign (Aleutians Islands). His separation document currently reflects participation in that campaign. There is no indication the unit participated in any additional campaigns.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Board concludes that the applicant met the basic qualification requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. His service as an infantryman, in an infantry unit, as well as the fact that evidence available on his separation qualification record indicates that he participated in reconnaissance and combat patrols, support this conclusion. As such, in the interest of justice and equity, he should be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.
2. As a result of his qualification for the Combat Infantryman Badge he is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.
3. Evidence available to the Board indicates that the applicant's unit was credited with participation in one campaign while the applicant was a member of the organization. As such he is entitled to only one bronze service star on his Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
4. 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:
a. by awarding the individual concerned the Combat Infantryman Badge;
b. by awarding him the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award; and
c. by showing that he is entitled to one bronze service star on his Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__KAK __ __MHM__ __TLP __ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
___ Karol A. Kennedy_____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002075984 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030128 |
| 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. |
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