IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	        26 MARCH 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080018260 


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 military occupational specialty (MOS) changed to an infantry MOS and that he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

2.  The applicant states. in effect, that his squad routinely performed the duties of an infantry squad including performing combat patrols through jungles and villages with the intent of locating and destroying Japanese patrols and positions. He further states he was in numerous firefights while on patrol on Los Negros, Leyte, and Luzon.  Accordingly, he wants his records to reflect the duties he actually performed, which were those of an infantryman so that he can have closure to that period in his life. 

3.  The applicant provides a two-page explanation of his WWII experiences, three pages of photographs along with an explanation page, a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge), a copy of his Honorable Discharge Certificate, two historical reports of the 1st Cavalry Division; and four pages of text chronicling the activities of the 1st Cavalry Division in World War II, three letters to the office of his congressional representative explaining his duties during WWII, and a letter of support from his grandson. 

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 AR20080001308, on 3 June 2008.

2.  The applicant’s service personnel records were lost or destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973.  The records available to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records were provided by the applicant and also obtained from alternate sources and are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  The primary record available to this Board is the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55.  

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 19 April 1943 and entered active duty in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on 26 April 1943.  He completed his training and was awarded military occupational specialty 059 (construction foreman).  He departed for the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) Theater of Operations on 27 January 1944.  He arrived in the SWPA on
12 February 1944 and was assigned to Troop A, 8th Engineer Combat Squadron, 1st Cavalry Division as a construction foreman.

4.  He participated in the New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Southern Philippines, and Luzon campaigns and he departed the SWPA theater of operation on 25 November 1945.  He arrived in the United States on 7 December 1945 and was honorably discharged in the rank of sergeant (SGT) at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania on 16 December 1945. 

5.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 issued at the time of his discharge shows that he held MOS 059 (construction foreman) and that his branch was Combat Engineer (CE).

6.  A review of the applicant's Final Payment - Work Sheet (War Department Form 372A) shows that the applicant was not receiving combat infantry or expert infantry pay.

7.  The Corps of Engineers is a Combat Arms Branch which also has combat support and combat service support roles.  Missions encompass military and civil engineering and the related planning, organization, training, operation, and development.  Engineer officers are responsible for training and leading troops in 
combat, topographic, and construction engineering operations and facilities 
maintenance; civil works programs; and leading engineer troops in infantry combat operations.  Combat engineers are at the vanguard.  When conducting combat operations in close battle, they must be prepared to fight and employ their combat skills, using fire and maneuver to accomplish their engineer mission.  Consequently, all engineers are organized, trained, and equipped to fight and destroy the enemy.  The combat engineers' secondary mission is to reorganize into infantry units and fight as infantry. 

8.  War Department Circular 269, dated 27 October 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, published in 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.  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: 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).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that changing his MOS to that of an infantryman would best reflect his role in combat in WWII has been noted.  While the applicant does not dispute that he was awarded and held an engineer MOS and that he was assigned to an engineer unit, he believes that the role he served in combat reflects that of an infantryman and not an engineer. 

2.  While the sincerity of the applicant's claims and the explanations/recollections of his service during World War II are not in doubt, the fact remains that he was a combat engineer assigned to an engineer unit and he performed the duties expected of a combat engineer during the period in question, as did other members of his unit who were also not awarded the CIB or an infantry MOS. 

3.  It is apparent from the applicant's description of his duties that his unit was primarily operating in its secondary role as infantrymen, rather than its primary role as engineers and unfortunately, because they were actually engineers in an engineer unit, they were not entitled to award of the CIB; an award that only an infantryman with an infantry MOS, who is assigned to an infantry unit and who engages the enemy in active ground combat is entitled to receive.

4.  Although the destruction of the applicant's records in the 1973 fire at the NPRC, coupled with the passage of 60+ years since his discharge, makes it difficult to determine with any degree of certainty what happened in the applicant's case, it does not appear that his MOS was incorrectly or unjustly entered on his separation document as an engineer MOS.

5.  Likewise, the applicant's logic that he performed primarily as an infantryman is not sufficient justification to change his MOS to that of an infantryman after some 60 years has passed.  It is also noted that even if the applicant had been awarded an infantry MOS, he would not have been entitled to award of the CIB because he was assigned to an engineer squadron and not an infantry company, which is an essential element to qualify for award of the CIB.

6.  It should also be noted that there are many instances in which non-infantry Soldiers, such as the applicant, are required to perform as infantrymen when the need arises.  Likewise, infantry Soldiers are also tasked to do other than infantry duties when the need arises.  However, these are secondary roles and they do not convey any special entitlements because they were performed outside of an individual's primary specialty.  Accordingly, there appears to be no basis to award the applicant the MOS of an infantryman or to award him the CIB.  To do so would afford him a benefit not afforded to the many others who served in similar circumstances. 

7.  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:

1.  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 AR20080001308, dated 3 June 2008.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to the United States during WWII.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.



      ________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)                                         AR20080001308



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080018260



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