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Immediate Release Thursday, February 7, 2008
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Stephanie Valencia (Salazar) 202-228-3630 Ken Lundberg
(Martinez) – (202) 228-5957
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WASHINGTON, DC - Today, in an effort to honor our Nation’s heroes by preserving the memory of their contributions and sacrifices, United States Senators Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) introduced the Military Valor Roll of Honor Act of 2008 that would create the first-ever searchable database containing the names and citations of those brave individuals who have been awarded the Medal of Honor or any other medal authorized by Congress. Congressman John T. Salazar (CO-03) and twenty-four members of the House of Representatives sponsored the bill in the House and it is supported by The Military Order of the Purple Heart. The Military Valor Roll of Honor Act of 2008 requires the Department of Defense to establish a searchable database containing the names and citations of members of the Armed Forces who have been awarded our nation’s highest military honors. Currently no comprehensive database exists for these records. “It is time that we bring the record-keeping for our veterans’ honors into the 21st century by creating a publicly searchable database that shows the honors and distinctions our veterans have earned,” said Senator Salazar. “This database will help ensure that we are properly honoring our nation’s heroes; it will also allow law enforcement to crack down on those who falsify records and claim service they did not perform.” “This database will ensure there is a reliable tool available to thwart military medal fraud,” said Martinez. “This will also serve as an important reminder of the bravery of true soldiers who live among us, have come before or gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.” While copies of these original records exist (for Army and Air Force Awards), many remain in storage at the National Archives and are filed by command, number, and date. Each record usually contains the names and citations of a dozen or more recipients, but no index exists to enable a search by name. For this reason a family member or researcher is required to request a citation by those criteria, which are usually unknown to them, or to pay a researcher to sort through tens of thousands of pages. Even when this information is known, records often have to be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a process that can take a year or more before the individual receives the requested documents. Awards to members of the Navy and Marine Corps are preserved on nearly half-a-million index cards housed at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., where access to the general public is extremely limited.
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