Statistics:
Combat Infantryman
Badge 3,120
Combat Medic Badge 140
Total Awards 3,260
This book has 70 pages
ISBN 978-1-932891-33-1
ISBN 1-932891-33-1
Library of Congress
Control Number 2004-274057
The 386th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 97th
Infantry Division
WWII Campaigns
Central Europe
This is the first in a series of indexes of all infantry regiments and independent infantry battalions of the US Army in WWII. Others will be published as they are completed.
This work includes all decorations cited in the general orders of the 386th Infantry Regiment.* Please note that some decorations awarded to members of this regiment may have been cited in the general orders of other commands. This index lists all members of the 386th Infantry that were awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge by the 386th Infantry. It also lists members of the 386th Infantry and the 782nd Tank Battalion who’s Combat Medic Badges were announce in the 386th Infantry’s General Orders. These awards are important, since the recipients are retroactively entitled to a Bronze Star medal under Change 13 to Army Regulation 600-45, Department of the Army, 4 November 1947. Unit Awards, awards of specific Battle Stars, and Good Conduct Medals are not listed.
According to the wording of Army Regulations, the combat Medic Badge was only to be awarded to medics assigned to infantry units. The Commander of the 782nd Tank Battalion requested that his medics be awarded this by the 386th Infantry. The commander of the 386th Infantry referred this matter to higher headquarters, who determined that he should award the Combat Medic badge to the medics of the 782nd Tank Battalion. The correspondence concerning this matter is located in the same box at the National Archives that contains the 386th Infantry’s general orders.
This is not an isolated incident. I have run across artillery forward observers who received the Combat Infantryman’s badge, to which they are not entitled, under a strict interpretation of regulations, since they were only attached and not assigned to an infantry regiment.
How to read the sources: (GO#12,1945,386INF) is broken down as “GO” (General Order), “#” (Number 12, 1945), “386INF” (386th Infantry).
Every effort has been made to minimize errors and misspelled names. An error may be attributable to the source document, or may have occurred while transcribing the names/units. Some of the original documents are of very poor print quality, making them difficult to decipher.