It was during the presentation to President George H.W. Bush, that President Obama spoke the
words that every Cold War Veteran hates to hear.
President Obama credited President Bush with ending the Cold War "without a shot being fired."
The very words we have been fighting since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end
of the Cold War.
We all know shots were fired, our planes were shot from the sky by communist forces, our ships
were attacked, ground troops were shot at. Many lives were lost during the Cold War, the VFW
places the count at over 380, but many more were lost in secret operations.
We can not allow this flawed thinking to continue, America must remember! Does no one think
that Korea, Vietnam, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Lebanon and so many other clashes were not
a part of the Cold War?
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the end of the Cold War, our nation must pay respect
and honor to all those who endured the harsh and arduous conditions in the battle to contain
communism. From Sept. 1945 to Dec. 1991 these men and women stood ready and waiting;
and hoping that nuclear war did not break out.
From ships at sea, submarines under the sea, troops on the ground around the world
SAC planes in the air, those standing in place in missile silos; no matter where, no matter
when, no matter which uniform they wore; they were heroes all. Each and everyone should
be thanked, recognized, honored, and respected.
We must not forget! We can not forget! We must say to those who try to re-write history NO!
It was a war and WE WON!
Please contact your elected officials in Washington, tell them to make this a special year. Tell
them that this must be the year to authorize and issue a Cold War Victory/Service Medal.
Do not allow those who sacrificed their lives continue to be ignored. Do not consider those
who gave of their time to protect our country as "just showing up", it was more than "just
a job" to us; it was a fight for right and freedom.
President Obama, please correct this mistake. Will you do honor to the Cold War Veterans
and by Executive Order create a medal to finally give us a place in history?
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
I wonder what the actual death toll would be if they added in the 'training accidents?'
ReplyDeleteWe were in so many places at so many times for so many years, constantly facing danger, always under severe restrictions and always so on edge that many f us ruined our health or our mental health, what toll in alcoholism or drug abuse? How many of us are homeless now or under unstable living conditions? All because we stood in the forefront of a war that wasn't a war but it encompassed so many conflicts throughout it's history as you've named above. I remember the recognition I got was a restriction against wearing my uniform in public or on public transport. I got to experience no one waiting for me when I got back to the States, When someone did care, it was to spit on me, or label me a baby-killer or a fascist or all of the above.