Cold War Victory Medal
The point of a Cold War Victory Medal would be to publicly, formally and irrevocably recognize the Cold War as a real war ending with a real victory.
After the allies won both WWI and WWII, we struck Victory Medals.
Didn't matter what else a fellow did in uniform, he got a medal to commemorate the victory. So back in 1918 and 1945 there wasn't anything notable in having a Victory Medal.
But now, on 11 November 2007 -- Remembrance Day -- when you see an old-timer at a service wearing a Victory Medal, you don't think about him as a younger fellow like us who would rather have been chasing girls and drinking beer and doing pretty much anything except patrolling, digging holes and cleaning a rifle. Instead, when you see those medals you think about the war he went to, the country he stood for, and the millions of guys who are no longer with us that he and his medals have come to represent.
Of course, when it comes to the Cold War, a Victory Medal wouldn't be politically correct, would it? Because if we won the war . . . then the Soviets and their allies (several of which are now our own allies, and all of which are now our trading partners) must have lost the war. And if the Cold War was a real war . . . what the devil happened to years of peace that were supposed to follow? And if we acknowledge that we had a real enemy . . . what does that say about the people who spent their time undermining us?
Meanwhile, every time some smirking cretin tells me that there was no real threat, that we had no real enemy, and that the Cold War was just a big waste of money over a misunderstanding born out of our own pigheadedness, well, I have to wonder if successive US administrations are inclined to agree. Cold War? WHAT war? Who, me?! Nobody here but us chickens!
So I expect that politicians will continue to approach this softly, softly, not wanting to raise awkward issues that might alienate friends abroad or upset voters at home. After all, the Cold War was a victory for those of us in uniform but there are plenty of others who are still upset about getting their noses rubbed in it.
Like most of you, I've already got a couple rows of ribbons and it would be an expensive nuisance to add another at this point. But of course it's not about 'me'. And it's certainly not about another two-dollar piece of hardware. Instead, it's about the government finally acknowledging, in the traditional way, one of the greatest political and military victories in US history: a victory that took decades, billions of dollars and, of course, the service of millions.
The Cold War didn't end by coincidence. It certainly didn't end just because Gorbachev was a nice guy who finally helped us realise the error of our ways. It ended because guys like us at all levels of the government and military were determined to put an end to one of the most vicious dictatorships in modern history, and free the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe.
So that's what we went and did. And that's what justifies a Cold War Victory Medal.
Written 11 November 2007.
Lest we forget.
After the allies won both WWI and WWII, we struck Victory Medals.
Didn't matter what else a fellow did in uniform, he got a medal to commemorate the victory. So back in 1918 and 1945 there wasn't anything notable in having a Victory Medal.
But now, on 11 November 2007 -- Remembrance Day -- when you see an old-timer at a service wearing a Victory Medal, you don't think about him as a younger fellow like us who would rather have been chasing girls and drinking beer and doing pretty much anything except patrolling, digging holes and cleaning a rifle. Instead, when you see those medals you think about the war he went to, the country he stood for, and the millions of guys who are no longer with us that he and his medals have come to represent.
Of course, when it comes to the Cold War, a Victory Medal wouldn't be politically correct, would it? Because if we won the war . . . then the Soviets and their allies (several of which are now our own allies, and all of which are now our trading partners) must have lost the war. And if the Cold War was a real war . . . what the devil happened to years of peace that were supposed to follow? And if we acknowledge that we had a real enemy . . . what does that say about the people who spent their time undermining us?
Meanwhile, every time some smirking cretin tells me that there was no real threat, that we had no real enemy, and that the Cold War was just a big waste of money over a misunderstanding born out of our own pigheadedness, well, I have to wonder if successive US administrations are inclined to agree. Cold War? WHAT war? Who, me?! Nobody here but us chickens!
So I expect that politicians will continue to approach this softly, softly, not wanting to raise awkward issues that might alienate friends abroad or upset voters at home. After all, the Cold War was a victory for those of us in uniform but there are plenty of others who are still upset about getting their noses rubbed in it.
Like most of you, I've already got a couple rows of ribbons and it would be an expensive nuisance to add another at this point. But of course it's not about 'me'. And it's certainly not about another two-dollar piece of hardware. Instead, it's about the government finally acknowledging, in the traditional way, one of the greatest political and military victories in US history: a victory that took decades, billions of dollars and, of course, the service of millions.
The Cold War didn't end by coincidence. It certainly didn't end just because Gorbachev was a nice guy who finally helped us realise the error of our ways. It ended because guys like us at all levels of the government and military were determined to put an end to one of the most vicious dictatorships in modern history, and free the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe.
So that's what we went and did. And that's what justifies a Cold War Victory Medal.
Written 11 November 2007.
Lest we forget.
posted by mhg at 10:57 PM
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