It was a nice surprise to receive a response from Jerald Terwilliger, National Chairman, American Cold War Veterans Inc. One of the issues I and many other ex servicemen have is the fact that many have served anywhere from three to eight years and have nothing to show for it. At least in the US Military every service member receives the Defense medal. The Cold War really did have its moments, many of which have never come to light. I vividly remember the Cuban crisis, I was on the British submarine Taciturn at the time. We stored for war and sailed to a designated station to begin patrolling. For a week or more we maintained radio silence, then upon coming to the surface for our radio traffic we held our breath waiting to learn if a third world war had begun. Doesn’t seem like much today, but back then it was scaryl. We tend to forget as time passes but the Cold War was very real and very dangerous, people built bomb shelters in there back yards. Children were taught civil defense drills in schools, today we can laugh about it, but we came very close to a hot war many times over. I don’t think its a lot to ask that people who served during that period be recognized with a Cold War Medal.
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