President Obama Misspeaks During Medal of Freedom Awards

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

VA Publishes Final Regualation To Aid Korean Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange

 New Regulations Will Provide Easier Path To Health Care and Benefits to those exposed to
 illnesses for those exposed to herbicides.

WASHINGTON - Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving along the

demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea will have an easier path to access

quality health care and benefits under a Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA) final regulation that will expand the dates when illnesses caused

by herbicide exposure can be presumed to be related to Agent Orange.

"VA's primary mission is to be an advocate for Veterans," said Secretary

of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki "With this new regulation VA has

cleared a path for more Veterans who served in the demilitarized zone in

Korea to receive access to our quality health care and disability

benefits for exposure to Agent Orange." 

Under the final regulation published today in the Federal Register, VA

will presume herbicide exposure for any Veteran who served between April

1, 1968, and Aug. 31, 1971, in a unit determined by VA and the

Department of Defense (DoD) to have operated in an area in or near the

Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied.  

Previously, VA recognized that Agent Orange exposure could only be

conceded to Veterans who served in certain units along the Korean DMZ

between April 1968 and July 1969.  

In practical terms, eligible Veterans who have specific illnesses VA

presumes to be associated with herbicide exposure do not have to prove

an association between their illness and their military service.  This

"presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for

benefits and ensures that Veterans receive the benefits they deserve.

Click on these links to learn about Veterans' diseases associated with

Agent Orange exposure

<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/disea

ses.asp>  at

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp and

birth defects in children of Vietnam-era Veterans

<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/birth

_defects.asp>  at

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/birth_defects.asp.

VA encourages Veterans with covered service in Korea who have medical

conditions that may be related to Agent Orange to submit their

applications for access to VA health care and compensation as soon as

possible so the agency can begin processing their claims.

Individuals can go to website

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm

<http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm>  to get a more

complete understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive conditions

related to herbicide exposure, as well as what evidence is needed by VA

to make a decision about disability compensation or survivors benefits.

Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services for Veterans

exposed to the chemical is available at

www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange

<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/> .

The regulation is available on the Office of the Federal Register

website at http://www.ofr.gov/.

---------------- "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

Wyoming Bill to Welcome Home and Thank You Veterans

In the Wyoming Legislature a bill has  been introduced HB 0177 that would declare March 30
of each year Wyoming Veterans Welcome Home Day. The wording of the bill includes Veterans
from Korea, Vietnam, Cold War.

A link to the Wyoming Legislature legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/HB0177.pdf

Another state added to the growing list. Now we must fight to have a Cold War Veterans
Welcome Home or Cold War Victory Day on a national level.

Please everyone contact your elected officials ask them to institute a day to honor Cold War Veterans
on a national level.

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