RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:       24 January 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006584


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann, Jr.        |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald D. Gant                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Rowland C. Heflin             |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that the Combat Infantryman Badge be
added to his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation –
Honorable Discharge.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was in combat in the
Philippines in 1945 but, his discharge says nothing about the Combat
Infantryman Badge.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 and a photocopy
of the Combat Infantryman Badge in support of his request.  A statement of
support was submitted in follow-up correspondence through the applicant's
Member of Congress (MOC) from a former fellow Soldier.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice or error
that occurred on 16 May 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 2 March 2005, but was not received for processing until 2 May 2005.

2.  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
allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to
excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the
ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.
In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case
to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the
applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from reconstructed personnel records and information obtained from
alternate sources.

4.  Records available to the Board show the applicant was inducted into the
Army of the United States on 29 June 1944.  The applicant received training
and was awarded the military occupational specialty of a Mortar Gunner in
the Infantry.

5.  On 12 December 1944, the applicant departed from the United States and
served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO).  He was
returned to the United States on 10 May 1946.

6.  Item 6 (Organization), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows the
applicant served with Company F, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry
Division.

7.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date), of the applicant's WD AGO
Form 53-55, shows the entry, "None."

8.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 16 May 1946, in the rank of
Private First Class (PFC), for the convenience of the Government, at
demobilization.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations), of his WD AGO Form
53-55, shows he was awarded the Victory Ribbon [correctly known as the
World War II Victory Medal]; the Army of Occupation Ribbon (Japan); the
APT Ribbon [the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal], with one bronze service
star; the Good Conduct Medal; and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon.

9.  In the statement of support that was submitted in follow-up
correspondence through the applicant's MOC from a former fellow Soldier,
the fellow-Soldier stated that he saw the applicant and the applicant's
unit relieved his company.  They set up in the same location so he knows
the applicant was in combat.

10.  A WD Form 372A, Final Payment – Work Sheet, in the applicant's
reconstructed records shows he was in receipt of combat infantry pay when
he processed for separation.

11.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the Combat Infantryman
Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an
incentive to infantrymen.  The Expert Infantryman Badge was to be awarded
for attainment of certain proficiency standards or by satisfactory
performance of duty in action against the enemy.  The Combat Infantryman
Badge was awarded for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.  War
Department Circular 186-1944 provided that the Combat Infantryman Badge
was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving with infantry units of
brigade, regimental or smaller size.  Additionally, World War II holders
of the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known
as combat infantry pay and holders of the Expert Infantryman Badge were
entitled to expert infantry pay.  Therefore, Soldiers had economic as
well as intangible reasons to ensure that their records were correct.
Thus, pay records are frequently the best available source to verify
entitlement to this award.  The Awards Branch, Total Army Personnel
Command, has advised in similar cases that, during World War II, the
Combat Infantryman Badge was normally awarded only to enlisted
individuals who served in the following positions:  Light machine gunner
(604),
Heavy machine gunner (605), Platoon sergeant (651), Squad leader (653),
Rifleman (745), Automatic rifleman (746), Heavy weapons NCO (812), and
Gun crewman (864).

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the
Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement
or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze
Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or
awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7
December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service,
during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July
1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical
Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect,
that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were
authorized either badge for service during World War II.

13.  Department of the Army (DA) Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register, shows that the applicant's unit, the 21st
Infantry Regiment, was awarded the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit
Citation, for the period 17 October 1944 through 4 July 1945, by Department
of the Army General Orders (DAGO) Number 47, dated 1950.  This pamphlet
also shows that the unit was awarded assault-landing credit for an
amphibious assault on Malabang on 17 April 1945.  DAGO Number 23, dated
1947, awarded assault-landing credit to the unit.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence shows that the applicant held an infantry MOS and
performed these duties with an infantry regiment, in an infantry division;
and, his final pay worksheet reveals that he was in receipt of combat
infantry pay.  Therefore, the Board concludes that the applicant was
awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, but it was not transposed to his WD
AGO Form 53-55 on his discharge from the Army.  He is therefore entitled to
the Combat Infantryman Badge and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

2.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, but it has been
determined it was not transposed to his WD AGO Form 53-55 when he was
discharged.  The applicant is therefore entitled to award of the Bronze
Star Medal, based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, for his service
during World War II and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant served with a unit, at the time it was awarded the
Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation.  He is therefore entitled
to award of this unit citation and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-
55.

4.  The applicant was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, with one
bronze service star.  He served with a unit, at the time it was awarded
credit for an amphibious assault landing on Malabang.  He is therefore
entitled to award of a bronze arrowhead device to be affixed to his Asiatic-
Pacific Campaign Medal and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:

_RDG___  _RCH___  __PM___   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
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by:

      a.  deleting the Victory Ribbon and the APT Ribbon, with one bronze
service star, from the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55;

      b.  correctly identifying the Victory Ribbon, now shown on the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, by correctly identifying it as the World War
II Victory Medal and, adding this award to his WD AGO Form 53-55;

      c.  awarding the applicant the Combat Infantryman Badge, in a
replacement set of orders, and awarding the applicant the Bronze Star
Medal, based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, and adding these
awards to his WD AGO Form 53-55;
      d.  awarding the applicant the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit
Citation and adding this unit award to his WD AGO Form 53-55; and

      e.  awarding the applicant a bronze arrowhead device for his
participation in the assault-landing on Malabang, on 17 April 1945, to be
affixed to his already-awarded Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, with one
bronze service star, and adding this award to his WD AGO Form 53-55 as the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, with one bronze service star, and with
bronze arrowhead device.




                            _____Patrick H. McGann, Jr.____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006584                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060124                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.   157                |107.0111                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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