IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 23 September 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080010674
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests, in effect, reconsideration of his request for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he takes exception to the Boards ruling to deny him the Combat Infantryman Badge. He also states that he arrived in Korea in September 1951 and after 9 months he was rotated back to the United States and arrived home in August 1952. He states that he would have been required to serve 12 months in Korea, if he had served in a non-combat position. He also received combat pay after he was discharged. How could he receive combat pay if he was not in combat? He also states that when he was discharged he did not notice that the Combat Infantryman Badge was not included on his separation document, at that time he was only interested in getting out of the Army - his mistake. The fact that his records were lost in the fire is not his fault. He was personally present and under hostile fire while assigned infantry duty in a qualifying infantry company while the company was actively engaged in ground combat, proven by page 177 of a Second Division Book, dated 1950-1951, a copy of which he included with his application.
3. The applicant provides copies of the title page for The Second United States Infantry Division in Korea 1950 -1951 and page 177 in support of his request for reconsideration.
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 AR20080000556, on 28 April 2008.
2. The applicants available records show he was awarded the military occupational specialty 1745, Infantryman, and served with Company F, 9th Infantry Regiment, during the Korean War.
3. The applicant submits a copy of page 177 of an article titled, Heartbreak Ridge, wherein he highlighted the section giving an account of the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiments actions on 8 and 10 October, by taking possession of the 867-1005-1040 ridgeline (Kum II Sung Ridge).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The regulation governing award of the Combat Infantryman Badge specifically states that to be eligible for this badge a Soldier must be serving in an infantry military occupational specialty, in an infantry unit of regimental or smaller size, during such times as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat. The Soldier must actually have been personally present and under hostile fire. The applicants record contains no indicator he was personally present and under hostile fire and he now provides an extract from the units history that shows it was involved in combat. This extract does not specifically name the applicant; therefore, his participation in the referred battle cannot be verified without appropriate witness statements and other proof actually placing him on location.
2. It is noted that just because a Soldier served in an infantry unit and in an infantry position, he is not entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. It is also noted that all Soldiers who were present in Korea were paid overseas duty pay and hostile fire pay. Receipt of these entitlements for service in a specifically designated area by Soldiers was not a basis for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. Based on the forgoing, the applicant does not meet the regulatory requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.
3. In all cases, the burden of proof rests with applicants to submit substantiating proof of their entitlement for awards in the absence of evidence in their records. The applicants recent submission in support of his request for reconsideration was reviewed and found to be insufficient. The documentation does not support or clearly identify that he was personally present and participated in active ground combat on those dates listed in the extract he provided. Without clear and convincing evidence that he was actually present and participated in the referred to battle, the overall merits of the case, including the latest submissions and arguments, are insufficient as a basis for a reversal of the Board's previous decision.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
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 AR20080000556, dated 29 April 2008.
_______ _x _______ ___
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080010674
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