American Cold War Veterans Annual Convention 2013

Greetings American Cold War Veterans:

Our annual convention and membership meeting in Washington, DC April 30-May 1 Make your plans now to attend. Time is 

running out and the cutoff date to reserve a hotel room in April 5.

April 30 tentative plans: Tour the memorials and monuments in Washington and a tour of the US Navy Museum located in the Navy Yard. The museum has an excellent and extensive Cold War Wing.

Membership meeting on May 1 to be held in Room 122 of the Cannon House Office Building at Independence Ave. and First St. SE

from 1:00PM to 3:00PM.

You may want to attempt to contact you elected officials for a visit to their office while you are in town. If your Senator/Representative

is not available ask to talk to their veterans affairs staff member.

Our annual Memorial Service for Heroes of the Cold War will be held at Arlington National Cemetery from 4:00Pm to 5:00PM 

The hotel we will be using this year is
The Best Western Pentagon
2480 Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22206
Phone: 703-979-4400 Be sure to tell them you are with The American Cold War Veterans. To receive the group room rate.
Contact is Erica Simuel or Group Sales
additional phone: 703-682-5500 and ask for Erica. Fax: 703-682-2631 email:ejenkins@yourdchotels.com
Rooms are two double beds, If you require anything special
please make your request when booking room.

The cut off date is April 5, 2013 so make your reservation early. After the cutoff date reservations are based upon availability
and the price may change.

The rooms are available from April 29 to May 1 the cost is $129.00 plus 10 percent tax per night.
It might be possible to extend your stay for an additional night or two at the same group rate, again
please make your request when booking the room.

The hotel does have a free shuttle available, you will have to call the hotel direct in order to be picked up from the airport-Ronald
Regan Washington National (DCA).

If you plan to attend please advise myself or Frank Tims at ftims@aol.com

Regards,

Jerald Terwilliger

---- Jerald Terwilliger Former 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

Veterans Memorial In Danger

Another Veterans Memorial is in danger and facing possible court action. Might it have to moved?

This time it is a tribute to WWI veterans who gave their lives for our country. The memorial is
facing the same old problems that have beset other memorials. Some people just do not like
it and are attempting to have it removed, citing separation of church and state.

In Blandensburg, Maryland the  forty foot tall Memorial Peace Cross is a well know landmark that has 

stood for over 85 years.

The monument honors 49 men from Prince George's County that lost their lives in WWI, the cross

was dedicated July 13, 1925 by Snyder-Farmer Post of the American Legion.

The Cross sits at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Annapolis Road, which places it on state

property. 

A group based in Washington,  The American Humanist Association, wants to have the memorial

removed. Claiming a religious image on public land violates the principle of separation of church

and state under the constitution. 

Veterans organizations and some civic groups are fighting to keep the Memorial standing where it

is. The local park and planning commission is researching the legal issues.

The Cross has a large gold star in the middle, around the base are the words Valor, Endurance, Courage,

Devotion. Also are inscribe the names of the 49 Heroes. A bronze tablet contains the famous quote

by Woodrow Wilson: "The right is more precious than peace. We shall fight for the things we always

carried nearest our hearts. To such a task we dedicate our lives."

Standing tall in memory, it is close to the WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam memorials and the heart

of our nation. 

So it continues, the attack on our veterans, our heroes and our memories. We can not just sit by

and watch as more freedoms are take away.

Wake up America before it is too late

---- Jerald Terwilliger Former 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

Col. Robert L. Howard MOH Receipient

The American Cold War Veterans are saddened to hear of the passing of another American
Hero.

Col. Robert L. Howard passed away on Dec 23, 2009 in Waco, Texas.

Col. Howard had enlisted in the US Army in 1956, he retired in 1992; according to some
historians he was the most highly decorated veteran in history.

As a Staff Sergeant of a highly secret organization he was nominated for a Medal of Honor on three separate occasions during a thirteen month span 1967-1968.

During a rescue operation in Cambodia Sergeant First Class Howard, although wounded himself, went to the rescue of the platoon commander. An enemy bullet stuck one of
his ammunition pouches causing further injuries. Sergeant Howard continued to give
first aid to his wounded platoon members.

He rallied the men and with air support they defeated a 2 company size enemy force.

In 1969 he received a direct appointment to 1st Lieutenant.

Among he awards and decorations are:

Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross (with one oak leaf cluster) (2 awards)
Silver Star
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters) (4 awards)
Bronze Star (with three oak leaf clusters and "V" device) (4 awards)
Purple Heart (with a silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters) (8 awards)
Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters) (3 awards)
Air Medal (with "V" Device and numeral 3. One award for heroism and two for aerial achievement)
Joint Service Commendation
Army Commendation Medal (with "V" device and one each silver and bronze oak leaf clusters. 4 awards for valor and 3 for achievement)
Joint Service Achievement
Army Achievement
* Good Conduct Medal with four Good Conduct Loops (4 awards)
* National Defense Service Medal
* Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with three service stars (3 awards)
* Vietnam Service Medal with 3 service stars (3 campaigns)
* Armed Forces Reserve Medal
* NCO Professional Development Ribbon with 2 device
* Army Service Ribbon
* Army Overseas Service Ribbon
Unit citations

* Army Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon Presidential Unit Citation (Army) with oak leaf cluster (2 awards)
* Army Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)
* Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon Navy Unit Commendation
* Vietnam gallantry cross unit award-3d.svg Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation with Palm (Unit citation)
* Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Unit Citation with Palm (Unit citation)

Foreign decorations

* Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star (Corps citation), Silver Star (Division citation) and Bronze Star (Regiment/Brigade citation)
* Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal, 1st Class
* Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal, 1st Class
* Republic of Vietnam Wound Medal
* Republic of Vietnam Staff Service Medal, 2nd Class
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 bar
* Republic of Korea Order of National Security Merit (Sam-Il Medal)

Badges, qualifications and tabs

* Ranger Tab
* Special Forces Tab
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Expert Infantryman's Badge
* Aircrew Badge
* Master Parachutist Badge
* Pathfinder Badge
* Air Assault Badge
* Expert Marksmanship Badge
* Vietnamese Ranger Badge
* Vietnamese Master Parachute Badge
* Thai Master Parachute Wings
* Korean Master Parachute Badge
* Thai Balloonist Badge
* French Parachutist Badge

Our nation must never forget the brave men and women who fought and died to preserve
our freedom and the American Way. Without their willing sacrifice we would not be
the great country we have become.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.

Vetean and wife laid to rest with Honors

From MyFox Tampa Bay


This is a follow up to the story of the remains of a combat veteran and his wife
that were found in a dump

Veteran's once-discarded remains laid to rest

Updated: Wednesday, 16 Dec 2009, 9:15 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 16 Dec 2009, 9:15 PM EST

* Warren Elly

Warren
Elly

BUSHNELL - With two Tampa Police cruisers as escort, the remains arrived at Bushnell National Cemetery for military honors 26 years overdue.

Honors for Army Sargeant Delbert Hahn, who won the Bronze Star for Valor in the Normandy Invasion of June 1944 and, twice wounded, two purple hearts.

All that's left is a faded newsclipping from the day long after the war that Hahn received those metals.

Now finally his remains, and wife Barbara's, are honored for his service. The military was unable to find any surviving family.

"We commend to almighty God our brother and sister Delbert and Barbara, and we commit their bodies to their resting place," the chaplain said over the ashes, one set in an urn, the other, the wife's, still in a temporary cardboard tube.

Bushnell is a long, long way from the parking lot behind a closed college in Tampa, where the hero and his wife's urns had been dumped by a company clearing foreclosed homes.

Among the mourners were the young National Guardsman and his fiancée, who found the urns as they picked through the illegal dump for treasure.

"Its just what we wanted," said Mike Colt, wearing his class A Army uniform. "We didn't want him left in the parking lot or anything, we wanted this for him."

Even cemetery workers gathered as word spread about the Army Sergeant with two Purple Hearts -- forgotten, without family.

First came the 21 guns, then the taps.

The Tampa Police Officers that the couple went to with the urns are combat veterans themselves, and they knew what to do.

"This guy is truly an American hero," said Corporal Ed Croissant. "And the fact that his remains and the remains of his wife were just dumped behind a vacant building on Busch Boulevard is just a disgrace."

At last, an American hero is at rest, 66 years after acts of bravery and courage, no longer forgotten.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans,Inc.

Medal of Honor receipent Millet passes

From the US Report
American Hero Lewis Millett, Medal of Honor recipient passes. Leaving 93 living recipients.

http://www.theusreport.com/the-us-report/medal-of-honor-recipient-lewis-millett-hero-of-battle-of-bay.html

Medal of Honor recipient Lewis Millett, hero of Battle of Bayonet Hill, passes
DateMonday, November 16, 2009 at 08:38AM

by Chris Carter
Capt. Louis L. Millett, 88, Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Nov. 14 in Loma Linda, Calif.[Photo from Crushing Chris}
In 1940, Lewis L. "Red" Millett, a 17 year old native of Mechanic Falls, Maine, dropped out of high school and joined the Army Air Corps in order to fight the increasing fascist threat in Europe. But when President Roosevelt stated that the U.S. would not be entering the war, Millett decided to become a deserter and head to Canada - not to avoid combat, but to seek it out as part of the Canadian army. He was sent to London where he served as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Nazi's "Blitz" bombing campaign.

"I deeply believe that if you're a free man, then you should stand up and support freedom wherever it is," Millett said during an interview on the 2003 PBS documentary American Valor.

When the U.S. joined the war in 1942, Millet was able to transfer back to the American Army. Joining the 1st Armored Division, Millett earned the Silver Star - the nation's third-highest award for valor - for his actions in North Africa. He also fought at Salerno and Anzio, but the paperwork of his desertion caught up to Millett, who was court-martialed, demoted to private, and fined $52.

However following his punishment, Millett received a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant and a Bronze Star.

Then on Feb. 7, 1951 during the Korean War, Millett - who had been promoted to Captain - was leading an under-strength company of 27th Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds" against a strongly held enemy position on Hill 180, which is now part of Osan Air Base in South Korea.

"The Chinese had put out the word that we were afraid of bayonets," Millett told Stars and Stripes in a 1975 interview. "'Americans afraid of bayonets' is just ridiculous, I thought, so I intended to prove a point."

During the attack, one of Millett's platoons became pinned down by small-arms, automatic, and "buffalo gun" anti-tank fire. Millett ordered another platoon forward, telling his men to "Fix bayonets and follow me!"

Despite being wounded by a grenade blast, Millett charged forward - firing his rifle, throwing grenades, and striking enemies with his rifle and bayonet. When Millett reached a three-man buffalo gun emplacement, he killed all three with his bayonet. Once at the top of the hill, Millett waved his rifle over his head, encouraging his men by shouting "Grenades and cold steel!" - while still fighting the enemy.

Millett's charge was so effective that the remaining Communist forces fled, but not before 47 North Korean and Chinese soldiers lay dead, 18 of which had been killed by bayonets.

Capt. Millett was awarded the Medal of Honor - the nation's highest decoration for valor - for his actions on Hill 180, which came to be known as the Battle of Bayonet Hill.

"I was surprised, I never expected it," Millett told Stars and Stripes. "Of course, a lot of real fine people had to die so that a few might get decorated. There's an awful lot of men who lie buried over here, and the only recognition they received was the purple heart."

Lewis L. Millett, 88, passed away Saturday morning in Loma Linda, Calif. His passing means that only 93 living recipients of America's Medal of Honor remain.

In Sept. 2010, the Medal of Honor Society will hold its national convention in Charleston, S.C., giving Americans the opportunity to honor those like Lewis Millett who have given so much for this country.

We mourn the passing of a great American Hero who fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
Among his awards are:
Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star
Legion of Merit (3)
Bronze Star
Purple Heart (4)
Croix de Guerre (France)
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.
"We Remember"