IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 4 January 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120011165
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 for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).
2. The applicant states it appears the previous Boards decision was only based on his service time as a commissioned officer; however, he had prior enlisted service with the 32nd Infantry Division and was assigned to Headquarters, 32nd Infantry Division at the time he was wounded. He goes on to state that he does not have a discharge document but was able to obtain a Certificate in Lieu of Lost or Destroyed Honorable Discharge which shows his time in the Army from 12 October 1940 to 27 September 1943.
3. The applicant provides a copy of an Individual Record from the Wisconsin National Guard.
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 AR20110020803, on 26 April 2012.
2. The applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
3. The applicant enlisted in the Wisconsin National Guard on 12 October 1940 for a period of 3 years. He was assigned to the 32nd Military Police Company and was promoted to the rank of sergeant on 7 August 1941 by orders issued by the 32d Infantry Division. He was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant on 11 March 1942.
4. On 27 September 1943, he was honorably discharged in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO) to accept a commission. He was commissioned as a Transportation Corps lieutenant in the APTO on 28 September 1943 and served in the APTO until he departed on 11 April 1945.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 31 October 1945. He completed 6 months of continental service and 1 year, 7 months, and 4 days of foreign service. Item 29 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-98 shows the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Service Ribbon and the Purple Heart (General Orders Number 2, issued by Headquarters, 105th General Hospital in 1943).
6. The available evidence does not show the applicant held an infantry specialty or that he was assigned to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during his service in WWII.
7. The documents provided by the applicant do not reflect that the applicant held an infantry military occupational specialty.
8. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention that his records should be corrected to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge was carefully considered; however, the evidence presented and the evidence of record fail to sufficiently show that he was serving in an infantry military occupational specialty (MOS) in an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.
2. 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.
3. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to show that he was serving in an infantry MOS and in an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size, there appears to be no basis to grant his request.
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 AR20110020803, dated 26 April 2012.
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 World War II. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
_______ _ __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) AR20120011165
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120011165
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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