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The WWII, Korea, Vietnam 3rd Award Combat Infantryman Badge Holders, Photos and Biographies


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11 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

You decide. Sergeant Major M. E. Summers from a 1970 Fort Ord basic training book for sale on e-Bay. I can't find anything about him online, but his photo looks like his CIB may have two stars on it.

 

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/174616522175?hash=item28a7f4adbf:g:DOMAAOSwXyBgFCWA

Triple CIB.Summers M.E.1.jpg

Triple CIB.Summers M.E.2.jpg

It certainly does, a 3rd Award Cloth Subdued.

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On 12/25/2017 at 12:53 AM, patches said:

236. SHEIL, William R.

 

post-34986-0-00761200-1514180246_thumb.jpg

Sheil is a very interesting one, seems he was an officer at one time, as seen in this undated photo, 11th Airborne Division we're seeing, not sure if it's pre Korea or post, not sure if he was an O in WWII, but he probably was RIFed. Also can't find anymore on him other then this. He also after retiring worked for the State Department or was it the CIA! and was killed in April 18, 1983 bombing of the embassy in Beirut.

 

https://dloky.com/arlingtonnationalcemetery/today-i-remember-u-s-army-sgt-maj-william-r-sheil-march-26-1924-april-18-1983/promotion/519648/amp?shop=2390

 

 

 

 


UPDATE… 236. SHEIL, William R.

126966DA-946E-4651-ADED-1A2484242D32.jpeg

59D9054D-F1D6-4FCF-A615-E7D500F82AD7.png

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  • 3 weeks later...
22 hours ago, patches said:

Richard Wright Ellison

 

Found him just before, a Full Colonel, a MACV Advisor on his 2nd Tour KIA February 1971. He was in the 409th Infantry 103rd Infantry Division in WWII, an Officer. Korean War unit and previous Vietnam unit unknown at this time.

https://www.virtualwall.org/de/EllisonRW01a.htm

Richard Wright Ellison kia.jpg

Ellison in 1963.

376245864_RichardWrightEllison1963.jpg.f860e7aa6c21c6063552fdef590ab998.jpg

 

And with his family.

935491208_RichardWrightEllison1963u0006.jpg.fe6ad04128e810113999528d5dbf38e3.jpg

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On 6/17/2016 at 11:39 PM, patches said:

46. CLELAND, John R. D.

 

post-34986-0-67126100-1466221171.jpg

http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.78367

http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102449

 

Cleland commanded the 8th Infantry Division (Mech) in West Germany July 1975-June 1977.

 

I think this John R D Cleland was in fact a Juinor, and this is his father John R D Cleland Senior.

 

http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=11239

 

 

 

Some items that belong to John Cleland.

Triple CIB.Cleland.John R. D..jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/29/2017 at 12:33 PM, patches said:

154. LYNCH, William R., Jr

 

Lynch was a BG at time of retirement, and one of his coats was talked about

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/14285-1976-dated-us-army-coat/

 

Don't know what unit he was in in WWII, But he was In the 7th Infantry Division in Korea

 

http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=108175

 

 

In Vietnam he was the CO of the 2nd Brigade 1st Cavalry Division, July 1965-March 1966.

 

 

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=936703

Found one of his Fatigue Shirts, not the 2nd Division Combat patch, not sure where that comes in.

LYNCH, William R., J.PNG

LYNCH, William R., Jr.jpg

LYNCH, William R., Jrk.PNG

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On 8/22/2018 at 9:14 AM, seanmc1114 said:

This is from November 1969 and mentions his World War II and Korean War units. Note that your information shows he commanded the 3rd Brigade 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam while mine mentions the 4th Infantry Division. The 3rd Brigade of the 25th arrived in Vietnam before the rest of the division and was serving in Pleiku in II Corps when the remaining units of the 25th arrived in-country and were stationed around Cu Chi in III Corps. At some point in 1967, rather than sending the 3rd Brigade back to rejoin its parent division, the brigade was simply reflagged as a division of the 4th Infantry Division while a brigade of the 4th was reflagged as the 3rd Brigade 25th Infantry Division. I guessing Col. Wear commanded the 3rd Brigade 25th Infantry Division when it became a brigade of the 4th.

post-1761-0-92993600-1534943677_thumb.jpg

Found one more of Wear, this time as a General, George Elmer Wear (July 28, 1919 — Nov. 12, 2018), he was in the 106th Infantry Division in WWII, the 424th Infantry, the one regiment that wasn't destroyed, Wear was seriously wounded and evacuated to England.

wear.PNG

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  • 2 weeks later...

Major or possibly Lieutenant Colonel Willard L. Rodgers from the 1966 Command & General Staff College yearbook. I cannot find anything on him online. It looks like he may have been enlisted and possibly commissioned through OCS in World War II (Army Good Conduct Medal) and probably earned his third CIB as an advisor early in Vietnam or, less likely, the Dominican Republic in 1965 (Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal).

Triple CIB.Willard L. Rogers.1.jpg

Triple CIB.Willard L. Rogers.2.jpg

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10 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

Major or possibly Lieutenant Colonel Willard L. Rodgers from the 1966 Command & General Staff College yearbook. I cannot find anything on him online. It looks like he may have been enlisted and possibly commissioned through OCS in World War II (Army Good Conduct Medal) and probably earned his third CIB as an advisor early in Vietnam or, less likely, the Dominican Republic in 1965 (Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal).

Triple CIB.Willard L. Rogers.1.jpg

Triple CIB.Willard L. Rogers.2.jpg

Already posted him Sean

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8 hours ago, patches said:

Already posted him Sean

Yeah, I see that now. I searched the topic before posting, but I misspelled his last name as "Rogers" and got no result. At any rate, I did find the additional picture with his family. I did consider the possibility of his third CIB being awarded for service in the Dominican Republic, but as you stated, he dosen't have jump wings. That's not definitive, but I believe most if not all of the CIB's awarded for the DR would have been to parachutists of the 82nd AIrborne Division and Special Forces. He most likely served as an advisor early in Vietnam.

 

You can see numbers on his Infantry branch insignia and they appear a little clearer in the photo I posted that was scanned straight out of the 1966 Bell yearbook. It looks like "76" or "26" to me. Maybe he had a tour with the 1st Infantry Division right before the C&GSC.

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15 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

Yeah, I see that now. I searched the topic before posting, but I misspelled his last name as "Rogers" and got no result. At any rate, I did find the additional picture with his family. I did consider the possibility of his third CIB being awarded for service in the Dominican Republic, but as you stated, he dosen't have jump wings. That's not definitive, but I believe most if not all of the CIB's awarded for the DR would have been to parachutists of the 82nd AIrborne Division and Special Forces. He most likely served as an advisor early in Vietnam.

 

You can see numbers on his Infantry branch insignia and they appear a little clearer in the photo I posted that was scanned straight out of the 1966 Bell yearbook. It looks like "76" or "26" to me. Maybe he had a tour with the 1st Infantry Division right before the C&GSC.

That would be my decision, a MAAG/MACV Advisor in the early period, this accounting for the ribbon for Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, thee first medal awarded for advisors, which was ultimately superseded by the Vietnam Service Medal.

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ItemCo16527
On 4/27/2022 at 8:35 AM, seanmc1114 said:

Yeah, I see that now. I searched the topic before posting, but I misspelled his last name as "Rogers" and got no result. At any rate, I did find the additional picture with his family. I did consider the possibility of his third CIB being awarded for service in the Dominican Republic, but as you stated, he dosen't have jump wings. That's not definitive, but I believe most if not all of the CIB's awarded for the DR would have been to parachutists of the 82nd AIrborne Division and Special Forces. He most likely served as an advisor early in Vietnam.

 

You can see numbers on his Infantry branch insignia and they appear a little clearer in the photo I posted that was scanned straight out of the 1966 Bell yearbook. It looks like "76" or "26" to me. Maybe he had a tour with the 1st Infantry Division right before the C&GSC.

Maybe I need to get my eyes checked, but it looks like he has the numerals over the rifles on his left lapel, but not over the ones on his right. Also, the fact he served in three wars as an infantryman and didn't receive a single Purple Heart is pretty amazing to me. He was one lucky man.

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1 hour ago, ItemCo16527 said:

Maybe I need to get my eyes checked, but it looks like he has the numerals over the rifles on his left lapel, but not over the ones on his right. Also, the fact he served in three wars as an infantryman and didn't receive a single Purple Heart is pretty amazing to me. He was one lucky man.

It's probably there, it's just the extreme obliqueness of the photo angle.

 

Two things are in play when one see's numbered Branch of Service Badges on Officers in the 50s and 60s, in this particular instance Rodgers may be wearing his BOS from the unit he just came from to go to Leavenworth, up till the early 70s Officers could and did wear the patch of the unit they just came from to attend, and it seems unit crests sometimes, but less so with these, just the patch mostly, and in some cases the numbered BOSs, but we're really not seeing a Organizational Shoulder Patch right, so, in this case he may be wearing one of his WWII or Korean War Unit BOSs, some officers did this if they were not at that moment serving in a TO&E unit.

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trenchfoot

I don't know if this counts as it was an honorary award, but Master Sergeant Charles L Harrell, a veteran of WW1 with the 82nd Division, WW2 with the 748th Railway Operating Battalion (they didn't see action but Harrell made sure to find some with another unit) and Korea with multiple railway construction battalions spanning 1950-1953, was given a 3rd award CIB during an 82nd Airborne Division in 1989 by General Vuonoas he was the oldest surviving 82nd Division veteran at the time. He served off and on between 1917 until permanently discharged in 1980 but was involved with the 82nd Airborne Division Association until his death. 

 

2 photos showing him wearing the CIB. The soldier on his right in the 2nd photo also appears to wear a 3rd or 2nd Award CIB. His name tag says "Simmons"

 

IMG_7746.PNG.6083608e79fdf0be090bab74fef5167f.PNGIMG_7747.PNG.cdf5cbd0a8b37eb9e6bf64ac4e1475a3.PNG

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19 hours ago, trenchfoot said:

I don't know if this counts as it was an honorary award, but Master Sergeant Charles L Harrell, a veteran of WW1 with the 82nd Division, WW2 with the 748th Railway Operating Battalion (they didn't see action but Harrell made sure to find some with another unit) and Korea with multiple railway construction battalions spanning 1950-1953, was given a 3rd award CIB during an 82nd Airborne Division in 1989 by General Vuonoas he was the oldest surviving 82nd Division veteran at the time. He served off and on between 1917 until permanently discharged in 1980 but was involved with the 82nd Airborne Division Association until his death. 

 

2 photos showing him wearing the CIB. The soldier on his right in the 2nd photo also appears to wear a 3rd or 2nd Award CIB. His name tag says "Simmons"

 

IMG_7746.PNG.6083608e79fdf0be090bab74fef5167f.PNGIMG_7747.PNG.cdf5cbd0a8b37eb9e6bf64ac4e1475a3.PNG

This General Vuonoas, is he in fact Carl E. Vuono? Not seeing a General Vuonoas. But who ever he was he should of known he was in a breach of a Tradition of The Service, as well as a breach of regulations. with no offense to this sergeant, it seems unlikely he served for over 60s years

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1 hour ago, patches said:

 

This General Vuonoas, is he in fact Carl E. Vuono? Not seeing a General Vuonoas. But who ever he was he should of known he was in a breach of a Tradition of The Service, as well as a breach of regulations. with no offense to this sergeant, it seems unlikely he served for over 60s years

trenchfoot do you have a link to this story and pics?

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trenchfoot

Yes it was General Vuono, I think google autocorrected it for some reason. I have a decent amount of his service files which I used to write about his service at this link:

https://helmetsofhistory.weebly.com/master-sergeant-charles-harrell.html

 

Now I can't really comment on a breach of tradition or regulations, just mentioning what I have researched. I believe in total he served 28 years

 

Russ

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seanmc1114
On 5/2/2022 at 2:17 AM, trenchfoot said:

I don't know if this counts as it was an honorary award, but Master Sergeant Charles L Harrell, a veteran of WW1 with the 82nd Division, WW2 with the 748th Railway Operating Battalion (they didn't see action but Harrell made sure to find some with another unit) and Korea with multiple railway construction battalions spanning 1950-1953, was given a 3rd award CIB during an 82nd Airborne Division in 1989 by General Vuonoas he was the oldest surviving 82nd Division veteran at the time. He served off and on between 1917 until permanently discharged in 1980 but was involved with the 82nd Airborne Division Association until his death. 

 

2 photos showing him wearing the CIB. The soldier on his right in the 2nd photo also appears to wear a 3rd or 2nd Award CIB. His name tag says "Simmons"

 

IMG_7746.PNG.6083608e79fdf0be090bab74fef5167f.PNGIMG_7747.PNG.cdf5cbd0a8b37eb9e6bf64ac4e1475a3.PNG

 

12 hours ago, patches said:

 

This General Vuonoas, is he in fact Carl E. Vuono? Not seeing a General Vuonoas. But who ever he was he should of known he was in a breach of a Tradition of The Service, as well as a breach of regulations. with no offense to this sergeant, it seems unlikely he served for over 60s years

 

3 hours ago, trenchfoot said:

Yes it was General Vuono, I think google autocorrected it for some reason. I have a decent amount of his service files which I used to write about his service at this link:

https://helmetsofhistory.weebly.com/master-sergeant-charles-harrell.html

 

Now I can't really comment on a breach of tradition or regulations, just mentioning what I have researched. I believe in total he served 28 years

 

Russ

The CIB to Harrell would certainly count as an honorary award only since by regulation the CIB is not authorized for World War I service under any circumstance. It has only ever been retroactive to December 7, 1941. And despite any combat action he may or may not have seen in World War II or Korea, he was not assigned to an infantry unit engaged in active combat with the enemy. Thus he would not have qualified for a CIB for either of those wars. Personally I find the story about the three day pass to go fight with the Scots a little implausible, but I guess there is at least a contemporary newspaper account. Are there any documents verifying the award of the Silver Star and Purple Heart? The newspaper article makes no mention of any medals or wounds.

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trenchfoot
3 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

 

 

The CIB to Harrell would certainly count as an honorary award only since by regulation the CIB is not authorized for World War I service under any circumstance. It has only ever been retroactive to December 7, 1941. And despite any combat action he may or may not have seen in World War II or Korea, he was not assigned to an infantry unit engaged in active combat with the enemy. Thus he would not have qualified for a CIB for either of those wars. Personally I find the story about the three day pass to go fight with the Scots a little implausible, but I guess there is at least a contemporary newspaper account. Are there any documents verifying the award of the Silver Star and Purple Heart? The newspaper article makes no mention of any medals or wounds.

 

I understand, just thought I'd share in case he wanted to add it. I believe the wound was light and did not require hospitalization and there's no paperwork I could find about it. A copy of the silver star citation as in what it was awarded for is included in the documents that accompanied the grouping along with a typed outline of his service done by Harrell. Unfortunately I am away from home and can't take a picture of it.

 

Russ

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8 hours ago, trenchfoot said:

 

I understand, just thought I'd share in case he wanted to add it. I believe the wound was light and did not require hospitalization and there's no paperwork I could find about it. A copy of the silver star citation as in what it was awarded for is included in the documents that accompanied the grouping along with a typed outline of his service done by Harrell. Unfortunately I am away from home and can't take a picture of it.

 

Russ

We appreciate the sharing of this, it makes for an interesting discussion, I myself had added two photos from movies where a 3rd Award CIB is worn, by serious fictional characters, and while Harrell is not a fictional character, nor is his service fictional, we can not add him as a official and verified or a strong potential Awardee of the badge, a one who did not make it on to the Benning list, like Gabriel Alamo in #399,  Salvatore G. Viselli in Post #401  Arthur D. Stilgall in Post #450 etc etc.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/19/2018 at 12:03 AM, patches said:

Earl C. Sturm

 

In WWII 253rd Infantry 63rd Infantry Division

 

In Korea 23rd Infantry 2nd Infantry Division

 

In Vietnam was a battalion commander, unit unknown at this time.

 

 

post-34986-0-38462300-1516337922_thumb.jpg

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=159645043

 

 

 

Some updates on Sturm, Some gaps, but great additions.

 

C.O. of a Service Company in the 253rd Infantry 63rd Infantry Division, 

 

In Korea C.O. of Company E 23rd Infantry 2nd Infantry Division.

 

Photo taken after Vietnam as a Colonel, with the 3rd Award, he was Battalion Commander in the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam we know now, but Battalion not mentioned, only as one of the 1st Battalions of one of the Division's Infantry

STURMEARL.jpg

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