BOARD DATE: 7 November 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130002631
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 an earlier request to add the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) to his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
2. The applicant states he earned and received the CIB during his tour in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968.
3. The applicant provides:
* two sworn statements from fellow Soldiers
* orders
* awards
* Vietnam Combat Certificate
* Print out from the Vietnam Memorial
* 26 photographs depicting Soldiers in Vietnam
* 189 pages of Daily Journals of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, dated between 1 April and 13 May 1968
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 AR20110025178, on 14 June 2012.
2. He provides a sworn and notarized statement, dated 1 October 2012, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question who attests:
* he served with the applicant in the Army from October 1967 to October 1968
* they both received the CIB from their Battalion Commander
3. He provides a sworn and notarized statement, dated 7 December 2012, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question who attests:
* he and the applicant served together in combat and stood side by side when they were awarded the CIB
* they were also awarded the Air Medal
4. He also provides 189 pages of Daily Journals of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division between 1 April and 13 May 1968. He contends the journals offer an excellent example of the combat activity his battalion was involved in.
5. This documentation is new evidence that will be considered by the Board.
6. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 8 May 1967. He was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11H (infantry direct fire crewman) and later MOS 11B (light weapons infantryman). His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows his duty MOS as:
* 11H while he was assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam from 23 October 1967 to 22 January 1968
* 11B while he was assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam from 23 January to 13 August 1968
* 11B while he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 2nd Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam from 14 August to 16 October 1968
7. On 1 March 1969, he was honorably released from active duty.
8. His DD Form 214 does not show the CIB as an authorized award.
9. There are no orders for the CIB in the available records.
10. Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show entitlement to the CIB.
11. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states there are basically three requirements for award of the CIB. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The governing regulation for award of the CIB clearly establishes that the CIB may be awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS. They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.
2. The evidence shows the applicant held and served in an infantry MOS while assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry and HHC, 2nd Brigade,
1st Air Cavalry Division, during his assignment in Vietnam. However, there is no evidence of record which shows he served in active ground combat. Regrettably, in the absence of evidence of record showing he served in active ground combat, the eyewitness statements and supporting documentation provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for adding the CIB to his DD Form 214.
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 AR20110025178, dated 14 June 2012.
_______ _ 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) AR20130002631
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