IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 18 NOVEMBER 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080011728
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 reconsideration of his request to have his records corrected to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).
2. The applicant states that he was awarded the CIB as a result of combat service during the Korean War for 1 year and 24 days and the oversight/injustice of omitting it from his DD Form 214 is affecting his entitlement to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 and a photocopy of a picture of reflecting an individual wearing a CIB in support of his application.
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 AR20070018532, on 27 March 2008.
2. The applicant was inducted at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico on 6 August 1951. He completed his training as an infantryman, and he was advanced to the pay grade of E-2 on 6 December 1951 and to the pay grade of E-3 on 20 July 1952.
3. He served overseas for 1 year and 24 days and it appears that he was assigned to Company L, 65th Infantry Regiment in Korea, an all-volunteer Puerto Rican Regiment of the United States Army. However, because the applicant's records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, it cannot be determined with any degree of certainty the exact period he served in Korea.
4. On 15 July 1953, he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) and was transferred to the United States Army Reserve (USAR) to complete his statutory service obligation. He had served 1 year, 11 months, and 10 days of total active service and his DD Form 214 reflects that he was awarded the Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars and the United Nations Service Medal.
5. On 27 March 2008, the Board determined that there was no evidence in the available records to show that the applicant was ever awarded the CIB or that he had served in combat against the enemy while assigned to an infantry unit. Accordingly, the Board denied his request to be awarded the CIB. However, the Board did award him the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal and directed that his records be corrected accordingly.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and procedures concerning awards. Paragraph 8-6 provides for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. That paragraph states that there are basically three requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat. Specific requirements state, in effect, that an Army enlisted Soldier must have an infantry specialty, satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat. A recipient must be personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy. Award of the CIB must be announced in orders.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. While the sincerity of the applicant's claim that he earned the CIB while serving in combat is not in doubt, there simply is no evidence in the available records to support his claim and he has failed to show through the evidence submitted with his application sufficient evidence to show that he was awarded the CIB.
2. It is also noted that in his previous application he stated that he should have been awarded the CIB and in his current application he states that he was awarded the CIB and that an administrative error was the cause of it being omitted from his DD Form 214. However, the applicant has not provided orders to show that he was awarded the CIB.
3. Although he has provided a photograph of an individual with a CIB on his uniform, that in itself is insufficient to establish his entitlement to award of the CIB.
4. 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.
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 AR20070018532, dated 27 March 2008.
_______XXX_______________
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) AR20080011728
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080011728
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