RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           16 February 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050008743


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Janet Strafer                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Naomi Henderson               |     |Member               |

      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 reconsideration of his request that the Combat
Infantryman Badge (CIB) and Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) be added to his
record.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the CIB and ARCOM he received
while serving in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) were erroneously omitted
from the list of authorized awards contained in Item 24 (Decorations,
Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or
Authorized) of his 5 April 2003 separation document (DD Form 214).

3.  The applicant provides ARCOM and promotion orders, and an unsigned
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of
Claim), in support of his application.

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
AR20040004533 on 28 April 2005.

2.  The applicant’s record shows he was inducted into the Army and entered
active duty on 6 April 1971.  He was trained in, awarded, and served in
military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman) and
the highest rank he attained while serving on active duty was specialist
four (SP4).

3.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows, in
Item 31 (Foreign Service) that he served in the RVN from 4 September 1971
through
13 April 1972.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) shows that during his RVN
tour, he served with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment
(Airmobile), 101st Airborne Division from 18 September through 29 December
1971, and with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry (Airmobile), 1st
Cavalry Division from 30 December 1971 through 8 April 1972.

4.  The applicant provides a copy of Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division
(Airmobile) Special Orders Number 354, dated 20 December 1971.  These
orders promoted the applicant to SP4, in MOS 11B20, effective 6 December
1971.

5.  The applicant also provides a copy of Headquarters, 3rd Brigade, 1st
Cavalry Division (Airmobile) General Orders Number 965, dated 27 March
1972.  These orders awarded him the ARCOM, for his meritorious service in
the RVN for the period 4 September 1971 through 27 April 1972.

6.  The applicant also provides a VA Form 21-4138 as new evidence.  In this
document, he states that while serving in the RVN, he performed duties in
MOS 11B as an infantryman and participated in patrols and engaged in fire
fights on several occasions.  He further states that these were times of
extreme turmoil, and somehow his records were not kept correctly.  However,
he did earn the prestigious CIB and he is asking that his request be
reconsidered.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) contains the Army’s awards
policy.  Paragraph 8-6 contains guidance on award of the CIB.  It states,
in pertinent part, that there are basically three requirements for award of
the CIB.  The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing
infantry duties, must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as
the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and must actively participate
in such ground combat.  Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient
for award of the CIB.

8.  Paragraph 8-6b of the awards regulation further states, in pertinent
part, that the definition or requirement to be "engaged in active ground
combat" has generated much dialogue over the years as to the original
intent of the CIB.  In 1963 and 1965 Department of the Army (DA) messages
to the senior Army commander in the Southeast Asia theater of operations
authorized award of the CIB to otherwise qualified personnel "provided they
are personally present and under fire."  United States Army Vietnam
regulations went so far as to require documentation of the type and
intensity of enemy fire encountered by the Soldier. The intended
requirement to be "personally present and under fire" has not changed.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The new evidence provided by the applicant included a GO awarding him
the ARCOM, for meritorious service in the RVN.  Therefore, it would be
appropriate to add this award to his record and separation document at this
time.

2.  The applicant’s new argument regarding his entitlement to the CIB was
also carefully considered.  However, his RVN units of assignment are well
documented in his record when the Board rendered its original decision,
which was based on the lack of evidence confirming his active participation
in ground combat.  Absent any new evidence (third-party eye-witness
statements, CIB awards orders, etc) confirming that the applicant was
awarded the CIB by proper authority, or that verifies his active
participation in ground combat, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to
support award of the CIB has still not been satisfied in this case.
Therefore, amendment of the original Board decision on this issue is not
warranted.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

___WDP   __JS____  ___NH __  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a partial amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number
AR20040004533, dated 28 April 2005.  As a result, the Board recommends that
all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected
by adding the Army Commendation Medal to the list of awards contained in
Item 24 of his 5 April 1973 DD Form 214.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
the Combat Infantryman Badge.




            ____William D. Powers___
                    CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050008743                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/02/16                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1973/04/05                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-200                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PARTIAL                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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