Originally Posted by
Ninthace
If you feel that these losses are a direct result of the Cold War, then perhaps there is a case for them to receive a medal. It is not an argument for everyone who was in the armed forces during that period to receive a medal.
There are of course, the brush fire wars on the periphery. Korea, Malaya, Cyprus, Borneo, South Yemen (Aden and Radfan Mountains) then of course, Northern Ireland which spanned from 1969 to well past the end. And of course, the Falklands. There are various moments, which affected those in uniform at the time, albeit you can argue came to nothing, but. On top of all for us Brits were; Operation Plainfare, the Hungarian airlift, the Cuban Missile Crisis, constant challenges to flights up and down the Berlin Corridors resulting in the "Jackpine" operation to be ready to engage the Soviet/East German Air Force should thet stick to their guns (so to speak) over escorting RAF/USAF/FAF flights in and out of the air corridors. From my own personal experience, for all its worth, there was the crisis over Poland and General jarowzelski in 1981. Not all cold war warriors were involved in all of these, sometimes actual war footing campaigns, sometimes touch and go moments only. However, there were those who, for example, served in both world wars who never heard a shot fired in anger, but picked up the, the 14-20 service medal, Victory medal, defence medal and the 1939 to 1945 war service medal. There was an argument at the end of the second world war between the some senior officers and I forget the actual name of the department (but I believe the war medals commission), that RAF personnel on operational stations during the war from which aircraft operated against the enemy, should have been recognised with a campaign star. MRAF Sir William Sholto Douglas was one such officer.
FB
PS I forgot to mention Belize and Rhodesia