IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  27 March 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110018336 


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 award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

2.  The applicant states he should have been awarded the CIB because he was in combat as a machine gunner in contact with the enemy in January 1945.  He further states he fought in the jungles of Burma with the 124th Cavalry Regiment during World War II to open the Burma Road from India to China.

3.  The applicant provides:

* photographs of himself and friends as cavalryman
* web pages from http://marsmen.org (so named from the Mars Task Force) with emphasis on items concerning the 124th Cavalry Regiment and it's part in the war in the China-India-Burma campaign
* copies of his various discharge documents

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame 


provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant, enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) on
13 October 1940.  He was federalized with his unit, the 124th Cavalry Regiment, and he entered active service on 18 November 1940.

3.  His WD AGO 53-55 shows:

* his military occupational specialty (MOS) was 835 (Supply Clerk)
* he was discharged due to demobilization as a technician five on 9 November 1945
* he qualified sharpshooter with the rifle and marksman with the carbine
* he was awarded the American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, Army Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal
* he deployed the United States en route to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO) on 25 July 1944 and arrived on 26 August 1944
* he departed the APTO on 13 October 1945 and he arrived back in the United States on 2 November 1945

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 4 February 1948 and continuously served on active duty until his retirement for sufficient service for retirement on 28 February 1965.

5.  The web-based history of the 124th Cavalry Regiment submitted by the applicant states:

* the regiment became dismounted after it reached India but it kept its Cavalry designation
* the 124th made contact with the enemy on 15 January 1945 and fought for 17 days
* it was formally deactivated on 1 July 1945 in China
6.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the CIB and the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) to recognize and provide an incentive to infantrymen.  The EIB was to be awarded for attainment of certain proficiency standards or by 


satisfactory performance of duty in infantry skills.  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.  Additionally, World War II holders of the CIB received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay and holders of the EIB were entitled to expert infantry pay.  Soldiers had economic as well as intangible reasons to ensure that their records were correct; therefore, pay records are frequently the best available source to verify entitlement to this award.  The Military Awards Branch of the 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:

* Light machine gunner (604)
* Heavy machine gunner (605)
* Platoon sergeant (651)
* Squad leader (653)
* Rifleman (745)
* Automatic rifleman (746)
* Heavy weapons NCO (812)
* Gun crewman (864)

7.  All Soldiers are provided basic combat skills training after they enter the Army.  This is provided to ensure that all Soldiers have the survival skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arises.  The exigencies of combat may require non-infantry Soldiers to temporarily perform the basic infantry duties that all Soldiers are taught, but it is not a basis for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant may have fought in combat but that was not then and is not now the sole criteria for award of the CIB.

2.  Although he may have been detailed as a machine gunner during World War II he held a non-infantry MOS.  There is also no evidence the applicant participated in active ground combat while assigned to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.

3.  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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      _____________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)                                         AR20110018336



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110018336



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