The
New Campaign Medal for Veterans of the “Forgotten
Cease-Fire”
By
LTC J.B.
While
the Korean War is often referred to as America’s “Forgotten War,” few if any
Americans realize that only a highly enforced cease-fire from that war helps
keeps the peace on the Korean peninsula today. This peace was in large part due to the
constant and heroic efforts of the
After years of discussion and at the urging of
many veteran organizations who had significant
Congressional support, the Department of Defense announced on February 3, 2004,
that it was time to recognize the efforts of the “Forgotten Cease-Fire”
veterans and establish the Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM). This is an especially unique medal that gives
special recognition for the sacrifices and abilities of members of the U.S.
Armed Forces whose efforts have successfully defended “freedom’s frontier” in
the ROK and its surrounding air and waters for over fifty years. According to
Congressional findings and the basic points of Public Law 107-314 that
authorized the KDSM, in the years since the signing of the cease-fire agreement
on July 19, 1953, an average of 40,000 troops per year have served in the
ROK. Of those at least 1,200
The
KDSM is a unique campaign medal in that the vast majority of the personnel who
are eligible are military veterans who have long since left the service and
retirees. It is estimated that up to 2
million veterans served in the ROK since July 28, 1954, the beginning of
eligibility for the award. Consequently,
the KDSM may have the largest number of eligible recipients of any campaign
medal since those issued for World War II.
According to DoD, to be eligible for the award
service members must have been assigned, attached, or mobilized to units
operating in the area of eligibility and have been physically deployed in the
area of eligibility for 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days or meet one
of the following criteria:
·
Be engaged in
actual combat during and armed engagement, regardless of the time in the area
of responsibility;
·
Be wounded or
injured in the line of duty and require medical evacuation from the area of
eligibility;
·
Participated as
a regularly assigned air crew member flying sorties into, out of, within, or
over the area of eligibility in support of military operations. Each day that one or more sorties are flown
in accordance with these criteria shall count as one day towards the 30 or 60
day requirement; or
·
Served in
operations and exercises conducted in the area of eligibility are considered
eligible for the award as long as the basic time criteria.
Due
to the extensive time period of KDSM eligibility, the non-consecutive service
period for eligibility remains cumulative throughout the entire period.
Because
the vast majority the KDSM’s recipients are no longer on active duty or in the
reserves, the National Personnel Record Center (NPRC) in
In
addition to the NPRC web-site there at two exceptional web-sites hosted by the
Indiana Veterans’ Service Officers’ Association and the Korean Defense Veterans
of America that can provide additional eligibility information and assist with
advice on KDSM application. Their
respective web-site addresses are:
invsoa.homestead.com/KDSM.html, and
kdvamerica.org/KDSMinfo.html.
Links to these web sites can
be also available at the Alamo Chapter AUSA web site at:
www.alamochapterausa.org.
After receiving the application NPRC will process it and
if it is approved will then issue a DD Form 215 to award the medal and update
the veteran’s or retiree’s military record.
Barring any problems it should take about six months to get the DD Form
215 issued and sent in the mail but may take more time due to the large number
of awardees. The medal is to be mailed
separately but it may take over a year to receive the medal in the mail due to the
large number involved. An alternative is
to purchase the medal though commercial sources or, for those having the
privilege, through the local AAFES outlets.
One of the many issues that was presented at the 2004
Chief of Staff, Army, Retiree Council was issue 03-35-2004, was the concern
that because the medal would be issued to veterans by mail, it “appears as a
very banal way to show appreciation for service rendered.” As a result the Chief of Staff, Army, Retiree
Council supported the recommendation that “Military Installations throughout
the country celebrate on various occasions with retreat parades, or at a
minimum, conduct Retiree Appreciation Days.” Furthermore it recommended,
“Veterans and retirees receiving newly authorized decorations should be invited
to their nearest military facility, bring their decorations and be honored and
recognized appropriately at an event selected by the respective post
commander.”
In the spirit of the Chief of Staff, Army, Retiree
Council, the Alamo Chapter of AUSA encourages those veterans and retirees who
are eligible for the KDSM to apply. We
also encourage the military community in