Hayworth Recognized for Cold War Medal Sponsorship
Surrounded by representatives of various veterans’ organizations last Saturday, U.S. Congresswoman Nan Hayworth was recognized by county lawmakers and community members for her sponsorship of the Cold War Service Medal Act of 2011, a bill that would award recognition to those who served in the Armed Forces during the period of September 1945 through December 1991.
“There were immense operations by the United States government just to keep democracy alive and thousands of people died just from exercises, training missions and border incidents—there were thousands of casualties everywhere,” District 3 Legislator Richard Othmer said.
The beginnings of the bill can be traced back to 2009 when the Putnam County Legislature passed a resolution requesting support from Congress to authorize legislation for a nationally-recognized Cold War medal. Othmer, who also serves as the legislature’s veterans’ liaison and was a Cold War veteran himself, contacted Hayworth’s office to seek support earlier this year.
The bill, H.R. 1968, would honor Cold War veterans at the federal level.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized by Putnam County’s legislature in particular because there can’t be a county in New York State that does more with and for our veterans to honor their service to make sure that we not only honor the service in words but in our actions and what we do as a community and as county,” Hayworth said.
The congresswoman, whose mother and father served during World War II, said she was initially unaware that Cold War veterans did not have a service medal to call their own.
“That shouldn’t be—so it is my pleasure and my privilege to co-sponsor this legislation and we’re going to push to have this passed by the House of Representatives and by the Senate,” Hayworth said. “I can’t imagine that it won’t pass very easily, it’s just a matter of our calendar in the Congress making way for this particular legislation which I will work my hardest to make very soon.”
N.Y. Assemblyman Steve Katz has sponsored the bill on the state level in hopes of recognizing Cold War veterans in New York.
“Duck and cover, the missiles of October—these are the things I grew up with,” Katz said. “I was young, I was too young to serve but these were the men who were protecting me and my family and our country.”
Katz spoke of the importance of honoring the nation’s veterans, whether they’re from the World War II or the Cold War era, because they played an important role in defending the freedom of the United States.
“I am more than proud of the fact that here in Putnam we take care of our veterans, we are proud of them and we keep them on pedestal and we will continue to do that because they are the people who make our country great,” Katz said. “We will continue to do everything possible for our veterans.”
Despite the notion that the veteran community does not actively acknowledgement, Putnam County’s director of veteran affairs Karl Rhode thanked the lawmakers in attendance for their due diligence in lobbying for this specific piece of legislation.
“Often times, we don’t look for recognition, we don’t look for awards, we don’t look for medals and it’s wonderful when our elected officials come together and decide that they think it’s a great idea that we do get this special recognition,” Rhode said. “We’re like everybody else, we’re just regular guys and we just thank you for the support.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.