IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 June 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130016035 


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 Medical Badge (CMB) and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) to show the CMB.

2.  The applicant states he has gathered information regarding his unit's history during the period of his military service to show that he actually served with an infantry unit while engaged in combat with enemy forces.  The information he obtained highlights the missions of the 20th Infantry Regiment and 6th Infantry Division.  [In his original request, he stated he was a medical technician attached to Company B, 6th Medical Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division.]

   a.  He states that upon completion of training he was sent to San Luis Obispo, CA, where he stayed until July 1943.  His unit then set sail for Oahu, Hawaii, where they trained for several months.  In December 1943 or January 1944, the unit sailed to the Marshall Islands and then on to New Guinea where they trained for several months.

   b.  On 2 February 1944, his unit landed on Milne Bay, New Guinea.  In June 1944, the unit was ordered to take Lone Tree Hill.  He participated in the mission and was under constant fire.  He was more concerned about giving medical treatment to the wounded than anything else.  After about 10 days of fighting, they took Lone Tree Hill.

   c.  In December 1944, the Soldiers of the unit boarded ships and departed for the Philippine Islands.  When the unit landed at Luzon, it didn't encounter much resistance.  However, a few days later while traveling in a convoy, the unit encountered very heavy fighting.  Once again he performed his duties of treating wounded Soldiers and also the task of retrieving the bodies of those Soldiers killed in action.

   d.  A short time later he was sent to Inchon, Korea, where he remained until he redeployed to the United States.

3.  The applicant provides copies of the following unit histories:

* "A Brief History of the U.S. Army 6th Infantry Division" by Thomas E. Price
* extract of "The Approach to the Philippines" by Robert R. Smith
* "6th Infantry Division, The Battle for Luzon" (pages 21, 22, and 23)

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 AR20120016786, on 2 April 2013.

2.  The applicant's complete military records are not available for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, documents in a reconstructed record and those that he provides, which is new evidence that warrants reconsideration, are sufficient to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant's WD Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 25 February 1943 and he entered active service on 4 March 1943.  He was honorably discharged on 5 January 1946 at demobilization.  He had completed 7 months and 11 days of continental service; 2 years and 3 months of foreign service; and a total of 2 years, 10 months, and 11 days of longevity for pay purposes.  It also shows in:

	a.  item 6 (Organization), the entry "Company B, 6th Medical Battalion";

	b.  item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and Number), the entry "Medical Technician 409";

	c.  item 31 (Military Qualification and Date (i.e. infantry, aviation, and marksmanship badges, etc.)), the entry "None";

	d.  item 32 (Battles and Campaigns):

* New Guinea
* Luzon

	e.  item 33 (Decorations and Citations):

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars and 
one bronze arrowhead device
* Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze service star
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* World War II Victory Medal
* four Overseas Service Bars
 
	f.  item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), the entry "None"; and

	g.  item 36 (Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return):

* departed the United States on 20 September 1943
* arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO) on 26 September 1943
* departed the APTO on 28 November 1945
* arrived in the United States on 19 December 1945

4.  A War Department Form 372A (Final Payment - Worksheet), dated 5 January 1946, shows the applicant was paid foreign service pay for the period
1 November 1945 to 19 December 1945.  It does not show he was paid Medical Badge Pay.

5.  In support of his request for reconsideration he provides the following unit histories:

   a.  "A Brief History of the U.S. Army 6th Infantry Division" that shows, in pertinent part:

    	(1)  In May 1941, the 6th Medical Battalion was organized as part of the 6th Infantry Division.

    	(2)  The Division's "baptism of fire" came [on 20 June 1944] in a battle at Maffin Bay, New Guinea, known as the battle for 'Lone Tree Hill' that proved to be the bloodiest ten days in the entire New Guinea campaign to take a stubbornly defended hill from a determined and well-entrenched enemy."

    	(3)  On 9 January 1945, "[t]he greatest amphibious landing in the Pacific commenced with the 6th, 43rd, and 27th Infantry Divisions landing unopposed [at Lingayan Gulf, Luzon].  Japanese bombardment soon commenced, however, and the 6th Division's battle for Luzon would continue unabated for the next 
219 days."

   b.  An extract of "The Approach to the Philippines" that shows, in pertinent part, "[t]he 6th Division's 20th Infantry, together with the 6th Medical Battalion…arrived at Toem on 11 June [1944]."

   c.  An extract of "6th Infantry Division, The Battle for Luzon" that shows, in pertinent part, "Company 'B,' 20th Infantry, attacking up the mountain trail on 
3 August [1944], met heavy resistance from artillery, mortars, and machine guns" and "from 7 to 10 August [1944], Company 'B,' 20th Infantry tried to find a way to knock out the resistance atop Mount Puloy without success."

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the CMB is awarded to medical department personnel (colonel and below) who are assigned or attached to a medical unit of company or smaller size that is organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size which is engaged in active ground combat.  Battle participation credit is not sufficient; the infantry unit must have been in contact with the enemy and the Soldier must have been personally present and under fire during such ground combat.

   a.  Originally established as the Medical Badge, the CMB was created by the War Department on 1 March 1945.  Its evolution stemmed from a requirement to recognize medical aidmen who shared the same hazards and hardships of ground combat on a daily basis with the infantry Soldier.  Though established almost a year and a half after the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), it could be awarded retroactively to 7 December 1941 to fully-qualified personnel.  The regimental commander was the lowest level at which the CMB could be approved and it also carried with it a separate provision for enlisted badge holders to receive a $10.00 per month stipend known as Medical Badge Pay.

   b.  The intent of the CMB was to create a companion badge to the CIB with criteria for its award intended to parallel that of the CIB.  There was never any intention to award the CMB to all medical personnel who serve in a combat zone or imminent danger area.  As with the CIB, the infantry unit to which the medical personnel are assigned or attached must engage the enemy in active ground combat and the medical personnel must be personally present and under fire in order to be eligible for the award of the badge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for reconsideration was carefully considered.

   a.  It is acknowledged that the applicant met certain criteria for the CMB.  Specifically, he held a medical MOS and he was assigned to a medical company while serving in the APTO.  The evidence of record shows the 6th Medical Battalion was organic to the 6th Infantry Division.  However, the evidence of record does not show that it was organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size, or that he was attached to an infantry unit and personally present and under fire while engaged in active ground combat.

   b.  The sincerity of the applicant's comments in support of his claim to the  CMB is not in question.  However, regrettably, the evidence of record and the evidence he provides in support of his request for reconsideration is insufficient to substantiate his claim to the CMB.

2.  Therefore, in view of all of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the requested relief.

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 AR20120016786, dated 2 April 2013.


2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him 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)                                         AR20130016035



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130016035



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