IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 3 March 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150003299
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 earlier request for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).
2. The applicant states, in effect, he served in a long range reconnaissance platoon (LRRP) in Vietnam. He was awarded the Purple Heart and should have been awarded the CIB.
3. The applicant provides:
* previous Record of Proceedings
* statements from fellow Soldiers
* DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214 - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* orders awarding him the Purple Heart
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 AR20130014046, on 1 April 2013.
2. The applicant provides a new argument which was not previously considered by the Board. This new argument warrants consideration by the Board.
3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 7 August 1969. He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman).
4. He served in Vietnam from 15 September 1970 to 17 December 1970. He was assigned to Company N (Rangers), 75th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.
5. He was wounded in action on 9 December 1970. He sustained multiple fragment wounds to his extremities and buttocks when a booby trap exploded. His name is listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster as having been wounded in action as a result of "booby trap" explosion.
6. General Orders Number 245, issued by Headquarters, 67th Evacuation Hospital, on 11 December 1970, awarded him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 9 December 1970.
7. He was honorably retired by reason of physical disability on 30 April 1971. His DD Form 214, as amended by his DD Form 215, does not list the CIB.
8. He provides, in part, statements from fellow Soldiers who state they served with him in Vietnam. Each statement confirms that he was wounded as a result of enemy action while they were on a combat mission behind enemy lines and that he had served on previous LRRP missions in Vietnam. The statements note that LRRP missions were conducted deep in enemy territory and that Soldiers participating in these missions experienced the most dangerous of combat conditions. Each statement concludes that he should be awarded the CIB for his service.
9. 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) provides 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 applicant held an infantry MOS and served with an infantry unit in Vietnam. He was wounded in action as the result of an enemy booby trap explosion. This incident and his several weeks of service in a Ranger company are accepted as sufficient to show he met the criteria for award of the CIB. Accordingly, it would be appropriate to award him the CIB effective 9 December 1970 and to add the CIB to his DD Form 214.
BOARD VOTE:
___x____ ___x____ ___x____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMRs decision in Docket Number AR20130014046, dated 1 April 2013. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the CIB effective 9 December 1970 and adding the CIB to his DD Form 214.
_______ _ 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) AR20150003299
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150003299
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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