IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 21 April 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140015148
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 that he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).
2. He states:
a. He served one year in combat with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, from September 1968 to September 1969 at Phan Thiet, Vietnam, with plenty of enemy contact.
b. He noticed the CIB was missing when he received a letter from the Combat Infantry Association to join their organization.
c. He received information from the "Rendezvous with Destiny," a publication from the 101st Airborne Division. Additionally, he states that:
* On 19 December 1969, near Phan Thiet, Company D, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry was engaged with 15 Vietcong and they killed three enemy personnel
* On 29 December 1969, while on an ambush south of Phan Thiet elements of Company D, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, detonated claymore mines and grenades and an unknown size enemy force killing two people
* The next day, Delta Company paratroopers engaged with five enemy personnel, killing them and taking their weapons
* On 22 February 1969, Landing Zone Betty was mortared; an enemy force estimated at two Vietcong companies attacked the base; the ground attack was repulsed; and 14 enemy personnel were killed and one prisoner was taken
3. He provides a 101st Airborne Division Citation and a DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge).
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. On 27 March 1968, the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States. After completing initial entry training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in item 38 (Record of Assignments) he was in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry.
4. The applicant provides a Bronze Star Medal Citation he received from the 101st Airborne Division for meritorious service in connection with ground operations against a hostile force in the RVN during the period of 1 October 1968 to 31 May 1969.
5. He was honorably released from active duty on 26 March 1969. His DD Form 214 does not list the CIB among his authorized awards.
6. His records do not contain orders awarding him the CIB. Additionally, item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show the CIB.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the CIB is 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. Additionally, Appendix V of U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) states that during the Vietnam era the CIB was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11D, 11F, 11G, or 11H.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The evidence confirms the applicant was an infantryman assigned to an infantry unit during his service in the RVN; however, the evidence does not conclusively show he participated in active ground combat. His own statement is an insufficient basis for awarding the CIB. In the absence of independent corroborating evidence confirming he met all criteria for award of the CIB, there is an insufficient basis upon which to grant the requested relief.
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) AR20140018662
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140015148
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