MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


                  IN THE CASE OF:
        


                  BOARD DATE: 9 September 2003
                  DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003083810

         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Ms. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Shirley Powell		Chairperson
Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Member
Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		Member

         The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date. In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

         The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

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APPLICANT REQUESTS: Award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES: In effect, that he is entitled to the Combat Infantryman Badge because his military occupational specialty (MOS) during combat was Browning Automatic Rifleman (BAR), not MOS 776 (radio operator). He also contends that he is entitled to the Purple Heart because he suffered a concussion by a blast from a hand grenade. In support of his application, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); a letter of explanation, dated 29 November 2002; an eyewitness statement, dated 14 December 2002; a letter, dated 10 December 2002, from a fellow soldier; a letter, dated 19 November 2002; and a letter, dated 8 January 2003, from a Member of Congress.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records have been lost or destroyed. This case is being considered using reconstructed records. The applicant's reconstructed records consist primarily of the WD AGO Form 53-55 and medical records.

The applicant's reconstructed records show he was inducted on 13 January 1943. He served in MOS 776 assigned to Company B of the 320th Infantry Regiment in the European Theater of Operations from 27 May 1944 until he was honorably discharged on 21 February 1946 to accept Federal employment in the European Theater.

The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart as authorized awards.

Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he qualified expert with the BAR (correctly known as the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Automatic Rifle Bar).

There are no orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge in the available records.

There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant received combat infantry pay during World War II.

There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.

Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None."

Item 11 (List all significant diseases, wounds and injuries) on the applicant's WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement), dated 20 February 1946, does not mention any wounds or injuries.

The applicant provided an eyewitness statement, dated 14 December 2002, from a fellow soldier at the time in question. This soldier attests that the last time he saw the applicant was when two guys brought him out of an ambush trap where he had been blasted by a hand grenade and was later taken to the field hospital in Normandy. He also contends that the medic said the applicant had a concussion.

The applicant also provided a statement, dated 10 December 2002, from a fellow soldier. This soldier attests that, during a reunion, a platoon sergeant told him that the applicant had been evacuated to a hospital in Northern England after he got a concussion from a hand grenade.

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 and holders of the Expert Infantryman Badge were entitled to expert 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)

Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, sets forth requirements for award of basic marksmanship qualification badges. The qualification badge is awarded to indicate the degree in which an individual has qualified in a prescribed record course, and an appropriate bar is furnished to denote each weapon with which the individual has qualified. The qualification badges are in three classes: Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman.

DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

2. The Board considered the applicant's contention that his MOS during combat was BAR, not MOS 776. However, the BAR is not a MOS, it is a weapon for which component bars are authorized for marksmanship badges. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that his MOS was radio operator and that he received the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Automatic Rifle Bar.

3. The available records do not show that the applicant served in an infantry MOS or that he met the qualifications for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II. Therefore, the Board determined that there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Combat Infantryman Badge in this case.

4. The Board considered the applicant's contention that he suffered a concussion by a blast from a hand grenade and is entitled to award of the Purple Heart. However, there is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action during World War II.

5. The Board also considered the eyewitness statement provided in support of the applicant's claim for award of the Purple Heart. However, this statement, made 56 years after the fact, is not sufficient by itself as a basis for award of the Purple Heart, in view of evidence of record which shows the applicant was not wounded. Therefore, the Board determined that there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

6. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

SP_____ WTM____ TAP_____ DENY APPLICATION

                  Carl W. S. Chun
                  Director, Army Board for Correction
of Military Records

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003083810
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20030909
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.0111
2.	107.0015
3.
4.
5.
6.