by Gerry J. Gilmore
Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
WASHINGTON - (Army News Service, Jan. 14, 1999) - The
Army is managing a Department of Defense program that
recognizes service members and government civilian employees
for their service during the Cold War.
Qualified military and civilian personnel can now access the
Internet address http://sdcw.army.mil/coldwar to obtain
information on how to receive a Cold War Recognition Certificate
signed by Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, according to
Army Maj. Dan Gibson, chief of military awards branch, The
Adjutant General Directorate.
"The Internet address will provide applicants with information on
how to apply for the Cold War Certificate. Applications will
appear on the website April 5," Gibson said. "The applications will
collect individual/personal data and instruct applicants on which
documentation will be needed."
Gibson cautions applicants not to send original required
documents, such as DD Forms 214, (Certificate of
Release/Discharge from Military Service). Photocopies only
should be forwarded, he added, as any documents sent will not be
returned.
The Department of the Army is designated as the executive agent
for implementation and award of the CWRC. The Personnel
Service Support Division, The Adjutant General Directorate, U.S.
Total Army Personnel Command, Alexandria, Va., is responsible
for the program.
The certificate will be provided to all members of the armed forces
and qualified federal government employees who faithfully served
the United States during the Cold War era, from Sept. 2, 1945 to
Dec. 26, 1991, according to officials. Cohen approved issuance
of the certificate in accordance with section 1084 of the 1998
National Defense Authorization Act.
Above Cohen's signature, the certificate bears the inscription: "In
recognition of your service during the period of the Cold War (2
September 1945 - 26 December 1991) in promoting peace and
stability for this Nation, the people of this Nation are forever
grateful."
At the end of World War II in 1945, the United States and the
Soviet Union, formerly allies, became rivals for political and
military influence throughout the world. This struggle erupted in
several flash points over the years, to include the Korean War
(1950-53), the Hungarian Revolution (1956), the Berlin Crisis
(1961), the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), and the Vietnam Conflict
(1964-1975).
The Soviet Union attempted to keep up with a massive American
arms build-up during the 1980s. Soviet efforts to match the
Americans, combined with a draining war in Afghanistan, would
prove to "break the bank." Cracks appeared in Soviet hegemony
or influence, what former President Ronald Reagan called "the Evil
Empire." The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, effectively lifting the "Iron
Curtain" that the Soviets erected 28 years earlier to separate
Eastern and Western Europe.
In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, ending the Cold War
and Communist political control of the Russian people, which
began in 1918.
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