RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          23 August 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040009509


      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             |
|     |Mr. W. W. Osborn, Jr.             |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Marla J. N. Troup             |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that he be awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon and any other awards to
which he is entitled.

2.  The applicant states that he is entitled to the Combat Infantryman
Badge based upon the commendation as a combat Browning Automatic Rifle
(BAR) man.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a 33rd Infantry Division commendation,
his WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record), his WD AGO 53-55
(Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge), and a post-
traumatic stress (PTSD) evaluation questionnaire.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 15 November 1945.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 29 June 2004.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant entered active duty on 6 July 1942.  He was trained as a
truck driver and deployed to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater on 7 July 1943.
He spent 14 months as a truck driver in military occupational specialty
(MOS) 345, 14 months as a rifleman in MOS 745 and 9 months as a BAR man in
MOS 746.  He re-embarked for the United States on 28 October 1945 and was
discharged due to demobilization on 15 November 1945.  His final pay
voucher shows he was paid Combat Infantry Pay.

5.  The WD AGO 53-55 shows that he was authorized the Good Conduct Medal,
the American Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the WW II
Victory Medal.  He received campaign participation credit for New Guinea
and Luzon and he was qualified as a Marksman with the M1 Rifle and as a
Sharpshooter with the BAR.

6.  The 33rd Infantry Division commendation cited him for outstanding
service in action against the enemy, between 15 February and 30 June 1945,
as a BAR man in L Company, 123rd Infantry Regiment.

7.  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)

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the
Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or
service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star
Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded
a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December
1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during that
period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award
of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered
to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star
Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for
service during World War II.

9.  Paragraph 9-15 of Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Philippine
Liberation Ribbon is awarded for service in the liberation of the
Philippines from 17 October 1944 to 3 September 1945, under any of the
following conditions:
(1) participated in the initial landing operations on Leyte or adjoining
islands from 17 October 1944 to 20 October 1944.  An individual will be
considered as having participated in such operations if he landed on Leyte
or adjoining islands, was on a ship in Philippine waters, or was a
crewmember of an airplane which flew over Philippine territory during the
period; (2) participated in any engagement against the enemy during the
campaign on Leyte and adjoining islands.  An individual will be considered
as having participated in combat if he meets any of the conditions set
forth in paragraph 9-14a(2) through (4); (3) participated in any engagement
against the enemy on islands other than those included in (2) above.  An
individual will be considered as having participated in combat if he or she
meets any of the conditions set forth in paragraph 9-14a(2) through (4); or
(4) served in the Philippine Islands or on ships in Philippine waters for
not less than 30 days.

10.  Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register) shows
that during the period that the available records show the applicant was
with the unit, the 123rd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Philippine
Presidential Unit Citation and that the unit received occupation credit for
Japan from September 1946 through 20 January 1946.

11.  The Army of Occupation Medal was established by War Department General
Orders 32, 1946.  It is awarded for service for 30 consecutive days at a
normal post of duty (as contrasted to inspector, visitor, courier, escort,
passenger,
temporary duty, or detached service) while assigned to any of the
following:
Army of Occupation of Japan between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952 in
the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, the
surrounding smaller islands of the Japanese homeland, the Ryukyu Islands,
and the Bonin-Volcano Islands.  Service between 3 September 1945 and 2
March 1946 will be counted only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was
awarded for service before 3 September 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for outstanding
service as a BAR man while serving in combat with an infantry company.  He
met the qualification for and should be awarded the Combat Infantryman
Badge and the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  He is also authorized the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp,
the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippine Liberation
Ribbon.

BOARD VOTE:

_KAN___  __WDP__  ___MJNT  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by

      a.  awarding him the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star
Medal based upon the Combat Infantryman Badge; and

      b.  that, in addition to the awards currently shown on his WD AGO 53-
55, he is also authorized the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star
Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (Japan), the Philippine Presidential
Unit Citation and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon.




            _     Kathleen A. Newman___
                    CHAIRPERSON
                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040009505                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050823                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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