Cold War Victory Medal

Cold War Victory Medal
Cold War Victory Medal
Awarded by (1) United States National Guard (States of Alaska, Louisiana & Texas) (2) Commemorative medal for veterans and retirees by purchase from private vendors
Type	Medal
Eligibility	September 2, 1945 – December 26, 1991
Status	National Guard and commemorative medal for honorable service during Cold War
Statistics
First awarded	February 1, 2000
Last awarded	currently to those who served from September 2, 1945 – December 26, 1991
Precedence
Next (higher)	U.S. marksmanship, training and development awards (Note: Veterans may wear commemorative medal on public holidays. However, it is not authorized for wear on active duty uniform. The medal may be worn only on civilian attire and only after other authorized awards.) U.S. National Guard Alaska Air Medal Louisiana War Cross
Next (lower)	Alaska Commendation Medal Louisiana Emergency Service Medal

The Cold War Victory Medal is both an official medal of the National Guard and an unofficial military medal of the United States. It is awarded by the States of Louisiana and Texas, and in ribbon form only by the State of Alaska. In the medal's unofficial capacity it can be purchased, but not worn in uniform. It may be worn by any member of the United States military, or civilian employees of the federal government, who served in their positions honorably during the years of the Cold War, specifically September 2, 1945 to December 26, 1991.

Background and history

In accordance with section 1084 of the National Defense Authorization Act^[1] for fiscal year 1998, Congress commended the members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel who contributed to what the US government sees as their own historic victory in the Cold War, and authorized and instructed the then-Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, to prepare a certificate recognizing the Cold War service of qualifying members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel of the Department of Defense and other government agencies. The certificate became known as the Cold War Recognition Certificate available by request of the individual by all members of the armed forces and qualified federal government civilian personnel who honorably served the United States anytime during the Cold War, which is defined as September 2, 1945 to December 26, 1991.

In October 2001, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)^[2] for fiscal year 2002, which is signed into law on December 28, 2001 by President George W. Bush. In the NDAA approved by both houses and signed into law by the president, was a Sense of the Congress resolution that the Secretary of Defense should consider authorizing the issuance of a Campaign medal, to be known as the Cold War Service Medal, to each person who while a member of the Armed Forces served satisfactorily on active duty during the Cold War. The then-Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, did not create such a medal.

The official US Navy web page states: "The Department of Defense will not be creating a Cold War Service medal" and that any commemorative medals made by private vendors are unauthorized on the military uniform.^[3] At present the Cold War Victory Medal remains strictly commemorative and is unofficial other than for members of the Louisiana National Guard.

The Cold War Victory Medal is also referred to as the Cold War Commemorative Medal, Cold War Service Medal, or simply as the Cold War Medal. There are no devices or attachments authorized for the Cold War Victory Medal.

Design

The Cold War Victory Medal was designed by Nadine Russell, the Chief of Creative Heraldry at the Army's Institute of Heraldry and the designer of many campaign and service medals, including the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.^[4]

National Guard awards medal

The National Guard Bureau does not issue nor recognize the Cold War Victory Medal. The medal is worn as a National Guard award and issued by the Louisiana National Guard. The Adjutant General of the State of Louisiana currently authorizes the decoration as the "Louisiana Cold War Victory Medal". Eligible members, including active duty members, of the Louisiana National Guard are authorized to wear the medal in uniform while in the state of Louisiana and not on federal property in that state (e.g., Fort Polk).^[5]

Various commemorative versions of the medal

The Cold War Victory Medal is also a civilian medal which may be privately purchased but is not distributed by the United States government. As such, the decoration is not presently authorized for wear on active duty military uniforms. However, the medal has been officially adopted by the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States and is thus frequently worn by U.S. military retirees, veterans and civilians on public holidays, parades and veterans functions. In this regard, the order of precedence of the Cold War Victory Medal is immediately after the lowest authorized U.S. award.

There are various versions of the medal privately struck by many different vendors. However, the only version which has been officially adopted by the Military Order of Foreign Wars has been the Cold War Victory Medal designed by Nadine Russell of the Institute of Heraldry. It has also been officially adopted by the American Cold War Veterans organization. The Germany Defense Veterans of America has also adopted and authorized this medal to all the members of the Germany Defense Veterans of America as this organization's wear of medals on the GDVA uniform.

Bills introduced in Congress to enact authorization to wear medal

Over the years bills have been introduced in five separate Congresses for the authorization of a Cold War Victory Medal or Cold War Service Medal. To date bills have successfully passed both houses but get stripped out in committee. All medal bills have been vehemently opposed by the U.S. Department of Defense. On February 17, 2011, Senator Olympia Snowe (ME) and on May 24, 2011, Representative Steve Israel (NY-2) reintroduced legislation in the Senate and House, respectively, that the Secretary of Defense concerned may issue a service medal, to be known as the `Cold War Service Medal', to Cold War veterans who meet the criteria.

Bills in the United States Senate

List of 12 currently-serving senators who have supported the enactment of the medal

Bills in the U.S. House of Representatives

List of 42 currently-serving representatives plus 1 delegate to congress who have supported the enactment of the medal

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cold War Victory Medal.

• McGowan, Marina (July 13, 2005). "American society is in dire need of a wake-up call". Globalsecurity.org. 
• American Cold War Veterans
• Cold War Veterans Association
• Germany Defense Veterans of America