U.S. Navy: Cold War Medals

Cold War Medals

The Department of Defense will not be creating a Cold War Service medal, and commemorative medals being sold by private vendors are not authorized for wear on military uniforms. Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen approved a Cold War Recognition Certificate in 1999, and the Army, as executive agent, has been responsible for issuing them to any eligible applicant.

The certificate recognizes all service members and federal employees who faithfully served in the U.S. military during the Cold War era. For certificate purposes, that era is the end of World War II, Sept. 2, 1945, to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dec. 26, 1991.

An e-mail distributed beginning in 2001 saying that a Cold War medal had been approved was inaccurate.

The only official site to apply for a Cold War Recognition Certificate is the Army's Web site at http://coldwar.army.mil. Any other sites offering certificates, replicas or other commemoratives for sale are neither official nor endorsed by Department of Defense or any of the individual services.

Reviewed: 15 September 2009