RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  12 April 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060014564 


	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.


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	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 award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  He also requests correction of his records to show he was assigned to the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment.  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) should reflect award of the CIB and that he was assigned to the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment.   

3.  The applicant provides a letter to his congressman, dated 27 July 2005; a brief history of the CIB; his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); a letter of farewell, dated 11 July 1944; a commendation for the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment, dated 12 January 1989; a letter regarding award of the CIB, dated 30 July 1944; a portion of an appendix; and a citation for the Presidential Unit Citation.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged errors which occurred on 9 November 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 19 September 2006.

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 limitations 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 was inducted into the Army on 1 July 1943 and entered active duty on 4 August 1943.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his branch as Combat Engineer.  He departed the continental United States on 22 January 1944 and arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 12 February 1944.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he held military occupational specialty number 729 (Pioneer) at the time of separation.

5.  The applicant’s medical document, dated 7 June 1944, shows he was assigned to Company C, 36th Combat Engineer Regiment.

6.  The applicant departed the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 18 October 1945 and was honorably discharged from active duty on 9 November 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal.

7.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show award of the CIB.

8.  Item 6 (Organization) on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was assigned to the 179th Engineer Battalion prior to being separated from the Separation Center in California on 9 November 1945.

9.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he received credit for participation in the Central Europe Campaign, the Rome-Arno Campaign, and the Rhineland Campaign.  

10.  Information obtained from the Center of Military History on 3 April 2006 revealed that the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment served in Italy from September 1943 to August 1944; France from August 1944 to January 1945; and Germany from January 1945 to March 1945.

11.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the CIB and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an incentive to infantrymen.  The CIB was awarded for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.  War Department Circular 186-1944 further provided that the CIB was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving with infantry units of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  The Awards Branch, U.S Army Human Resources Command (USAHRC) has advised in similar cases that, during World War II, the CIB 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)

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and procedures 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 has 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.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 authorizes a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal including the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  

14.  Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 12-235 (Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms) established the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the WD AGO Form 53-55 during World War II.  This regulation stated that the last unit, or similar element, to which an individual was assigned, rather than the element of which he was a part while moving to a separation activity, would be entered in item 6 (Organization) of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  The regulation also noted that assignment to units for the purpose of transfer from a theater to the United States was considered part of the movement to a separation activity.

15.  Technical Manual (TM) 12-427, dated 12 July 1944, governed the military occupational classification of enlisted personnel.  It listed MOS 729 as a Pioneer (a basic engineer MOS).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his branch as Combat Engineer and that he held MOS 729 as a pioneer at the time of his separation.  There is no evidence available which shows he was awarded an infantry MOS or served as an infantryman in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.  Therefore, he has not met all the requirements for award of the CIB.  

2.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was assigned to the 179th Engineer Battalion prior to being assigned to the Separation Center in California.

3.  The applicant’s medical document prepared in July 1944 indicates he was a member of the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.

4.  Based on the evidence available, it appears that the applicant's last unit of assignment was the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment while he was assigned to the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.  It appears that most likely the applicant was assigned to the 179th Engineer Battalion only for movement to the separation activity.

5.  In accordance with the governing regulation then in effect, the applicant's last unit, the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment, to which he was assigned while not moving to a separation activity, should have been entered in item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to amend his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the entry "36th Combat Engineer Regiment" in item 6.

6.  The applicant received credit for participation in three campaigns in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.  Therefore, he is entitled to three bronze service stars for wear on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

7.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or injustice now under consideration on 9 November 1945, the date of his separation from active duty.  The ABCMR was not established until 2 January 1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  The applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations; however, based on the available evidence, it would be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

x______x______  x______  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial 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.  deleting the entry “179th Engineer Battalion” from item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55;

	b.  adding the entry “36th Combat Engineer Regiment” to item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55”; and 

	c.  adding three bronze service stars for wear on his already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to award of the CIB.  




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          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060014564
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070412
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
GRANT PARTIAL
REVIEW AUTHORITY
Mr. Schwartz
ISSUES         1.
107.0111
2.
100.0000
3.

4.

5.

6.