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Service

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Cold War Veterans

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Cold War Veterans served around the globe for 46 years ensuring freedom would not disappear at the hands of totalitarian communist regimes. Cold War Veterans served at places most of the world never heard of and at locations that made routine headlines. Cold War Veterans served in the air, on land and at sea.

Cold War veterans seek due recognition for their service

“They may have served in the U.S. military overseas or at a missile base in America. They may have been on secret missions in submarines, in aircraft or on the ground. They are millions of Cold War veterans, who served in the military from September 1945 to Dec. 26, 1991 — the day the Soviet Union dissolved — during pockets of peacetime tension that came during the expansion of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

“Frank Tims, historian and past chairman of the American Cold War Veterans, said a medal or a memorial would ‘at least get some formal recognition that the Cold War was more than just a period of unpleasantness and that the Defense Department has never owned up to recognizing it.’

“Supporters say there are small memorials around the country for Cold War veterans, but they think there should be one in Washington, D.C., which is home to numerous other memorials, such as for World War II and the Vietnam War.

“There has been federal legislation for a Cold War service medal, but the Defense Department, some veterans said, has stymied the idea in prior years.

“A Cold War recognition certificate (see below), established in 1999, is available for service members and civilian workers, according to the Defense Department. There also are commemorative medals sold by private vendors, but they cannot be worn on military uniforms, the department has said.”
(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/11/cold-war-vets-seek-recognition/18839955/)

House Resolution 900

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

March 21, 2010.

Whereas the Cold War involved hundreds of military exercises and operations that occurred between September 2, 1945, and December 26, 1991;

Whereas millions of Americans valiantly stood watch as members of the Armed Forces during the Cold War; and

Whereas many Americans sacrificed their lives during the Cold War in the cause of defeating communism and promoting world peace and stability: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) honors the sacrifices and contributions made by members of the Armed Forces during the Cold War; and

(2) encourages the people of the United States to participate in local and national activities honoring the sacrifices and contributions of those individuals.

429 Ayes, 0 Nays, 1 Present/Not Voting.
(http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr111-900)