RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	12 February 2008  
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070013486 


	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 reconsideration of his request for addition of the Combat Infantryman Badge to his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, his problem started when another former Soldier, a general officer, wanted to see if all the veterans in his adult community had received all their earned medals.  He turned all his important documents over to this general officer without having made a copy and the general lost them.

3.  In support of his request, the applicant provides a copy of an address book for Company L, 136th Infantry, 33rd Division; a photograph of his "shadow box"; and a copy of three photographs of an individual he claims to be himself in an Army uniform circa World War II.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20060011320 on 1 March 2007.

2.  The applicant, in his request for reconsideration, states he was assigned to Company L, 136th Infantry, 33rd Division.  The applicant's name appears on page 10 of the address book; however, no information is available about the creation and maintenance of the address book and the authenticity of the information contained therein.

3.  Item 4 (Arm or Service), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he was an Ordnance Corps Soldier.

4.  Item 9 (Organization), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he was assigned to the 229th Ordnance Base Depot.

5.  The applicant, in his request for reconsideration, states he was a rifleman and held the military occupational specialty (MOS) 747.  MOS 747 had the title, "Airplane and Engine Mechanic."

6.  Item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty and No.), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he held the MOS 650 (Switchboard Operator).

7.  The applicant states he received his Combat Infantryman Badge when he arrived in Japan.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he was awarded the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge, with Carbine Bar (M-1 Carbine).  The Combat Infantryman Badge is not shown in this item of the WD AGO Form 53-55 as having been awarded to him before he was separated on 27 November 1946.  The applicant did not submit any documentary evidence showing he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

8.  The applicant's reconstructed service records contain a copy of a Final Payment Worksheet (WD Form 372A) and a Final Payment Worksheet – Memorandum Copy (WD Form 372B).  These forms do not show the applicant was receiving combat infantry pay on the date of his separation.

9.  The photographs the applicant submitted in support of his request for addition of the Combat Infantryman Badge to his WD AGO Form 53-55 are not "official" Army photographs, they do not have any form of acceptable identification, and the individual shown in the photograph is not wearing a name tag on his uniform.

10.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an incentive to infantrymen.  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.  The Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, (USAHRC) 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:  Light Machine Gunner (604), Heavy Machine Gunner (605), Platoon Sergeant (651), Squad Leader (653), Rifleman (745), Automatic Rifleman (746), Heavy Weapons NCO (812), and Gun Crewman (864).  No other Soldier in combat is more exposed on a daily basis to the dangers and hardships of war and no other branch of the service suffers more casualties than the infantry.  To maintain the prestige, uniqueness, and traditional value of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the criteria for award has changed little over the years.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, a Soldier must have held an infantry MOS and served in that MOS in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size.
2.  The evidence shows the applicant was an Ordnance Corps Soldier who held the MOS 650 (Switchboard Operator) and was assigned to an ordnance base depot.  There is insufficient evidence the applicant was classified as an infantryman, that he held an infantry MOS, and that he demonstrated exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.

3.  During World War II, holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay.  On the date of his separation, the applicant was not receiving combat infantry pay.  The absence of payment of this entitlement was apparently based on the MOS which he held at the time of his separation.

4.  The applicant's name appears in the provided address book, an "unofficial publication" for Company L, 136th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Division; however, no information is available about its creation and maintenance, and about the authenticity of the information contained therein.  The applicant's contention he was assigned to this unit is not corroborated by the available evidence.

5.  The photographs the applicant submitted in support of his request for addition of the Combat Infantryman Badge to his WD AGO Form 53-55 are not "official" Army photographs, they do not have any form of acceptable identification; and the individual shown in the photographs is not wearing a name tag on his uniform.  In addition, it is impossible to determine if the awards and decorations the individual is displaying on the uniform are authorized and supported for his wear by "official" documents.  These photographs are therefore not sufficient as evidence to support the addition of the Combat Infantryman Badge to the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

6.  Based on the available evidence the applicant is not entitled to have the Combat Infantryman Badge added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___x__  _x____  ___x__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20060011320 dated 1 March 2007.




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          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20070013486
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED

TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.0000
2.
107.0111
3.

4.

5.

6.