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| | PRESS RELEASE
Cold War Veterans Association
Lenexa, KS
October 7, 2002
Cold War Vets get the shaft again!
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Despite very strong congressional sentiment supporting the Cold War Service
Medal, the Secretary of Defense has declined to authorize it at this time.
In their press release, the DoD stated that during the Cold War,
"commanders had a variety of awards" to recognize the service and
sacrifice of service men and women.
Service during the 1950s and 1960s had few awards that field commanders could
bestow. Excluding Korean War and Vietnam service, and the few
"expeditions" recognized by the AFEM, field commanders had little
authority to recognize soldiers, sailors, and airmen. In the case of the
Army, only two decorations (other than Good Conduct Medal, which was ubiquitous)
for individuals were generally available prior to 1966 - the Army Commendation
Medal and the Soldier's Medal. The Soldier's Medal called for such a
degree of heroism that it was seldom awarded. The Army Commendation Medal
was also scarce, and the Legion of Merit was reserved for field grade officers.
We would be interested in knowing just how many ARCOMs and unit commendations
were awarded, say, during the period 1955-60. There was no unique medal
for Cold War service per se, and again DoD has chosen to turn a blind eye to the
"service and sacrifice" of that period.
Pentagon bureaucrats always fall
back on that old chestnut, "The Cold War Recognition Certificate."
The position of the Cold War Veterans Association is that the certificate is
inadequate recognition for at least 3 reasons:
1) It is not a military award. By law,
the certificate is also given to civilians with any federal service, even if
that service was not in support of the Cold War. Thus, a clerk in the
Bureau of Land management or the Fish and Wildlife Service during the Cold War
period received the same recognition as a soldier in the Fulda gap or on the
Korean DMZ.
2) It does not conform to usual standards of military
recognition. Cold War service frequently entailed hardship,
sacrifice, risk, and even loss of life. The significance of the Cold
War has been verbally acknowledged by our national leaders, yet no other period
of service was recognized by a certificate in lieu of a service medal.
3) The "certificate" is cheapened by the
promiscuous nature of its eligibility. It is given to patriots
and draft dodgers alike. A person who refused to
serve in uniform, yet managed to get a seasonal job at the post office can
qualify for this "honor." Thus, it is no honor at all.
Many veterans of the Cold War refuse to apply for the "Cold War Recognition
Certificate." Some have returned theirs - more may do so. We
call on Congress to enact a law creating the Cold War Service Medal, and to
abolish the "recognition certificate" program.
Let's
limit the recognition to those who actually served.
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