While scrolling down my Facebook page I saw a posting about a Cold War Certificate and Medal. As with the vast majority of those postings I just took a casual glance, not reading the whole posting and doing “research” to determine the validity of what was being presented. Click bait? Some would call it that, but I’m not fishing, and so I didn’t click. I remembered some time back filling out an application for that certificate. I did receive it but it didn’t come with a a medal.
I mentioned that to my wife and she said maybe you should just ask why you didn’t get the medal. I thought to myself, it couldn’t hurt to ask. So, I went online to find the information. As with everything else on the internet it can become confusing real quick. It takes a while to get to the real deal, the official legit word on the matter. After wading through all that I discovered the reason I hadn’t received a medal with that certificate. The truth is, the United States federal government has never authorized any medal for cold war service. It doesn’t exist!
The Cold War Victory medal I saw depicted in that post is available for purchase by anyone that wants one. I have to admit I was a bit shocked by that. I can only assume it is completely legal to produce and sell fake military medals. We have all heard about stolen valor, how dis respectful and pathetic that is, apparently however, it is perfectly legal to purchase it! Except I did look into that a little bit and it is illegal! 18 USC 704 is clear about that. Yet, there it is on Facebook.
I’m not much of a crusader, I won’t be launching any investigations or filing any lawsuits regarding that. I can only assume there is some legal loophole somewhere that allows that to happen. US code is federal law so I’m a bit confused about that. I’ll ask my grandson, an actual law student if he can explain that to me. But I won’t be researching that post and attempting to do anything about that. I didn’t read the whole thing. For me the thing is finding the “final” answer and that is often very difficult to do on the internet.
The thing that does strike me though is why anyone that did serve during that time, the cold war era, and is entitled to that certificate would want to purchase an unauthorized medal? As I said, I have that certificate. I applied for it after seeing something about it on Facebook. I just thought, if I’m entitled to it, I should go ahead and get it. I filled out the application and about six months later the certificate came in the mail. I paid nothing for that, not even postage as I applied online. No medal was included. I now know that’s because there is no actual official medal for that! The idea of just buying one is beyond me. I can’t fathom why you would do that?
The number of medals, certificates and letters of commendation I was awarded over my twenty years of service in the Navy are only of importance to me. I do have a few of those items displayed around my home, as conversation pieces. They are the props for my “sea stories.” There are a few I wished I had earned back in the day, but I was just too lazy or not interested at the time to do so. Every medal, award, or certificate isn’t for heroism. The majority of them are more like participation trophies, I was on the team. I have an entire stack of “letters of commendation” for jobs well done. Those I do not have displayed anywhere just stored away in a box somewhere, a curiosity for the future. They are really little more than written, thank you. Nice to get.
Of course all this hero stuff nowadays I just find self serving and a bit disgusting. When everyone is a hero, no one is a hero. The thing is heroes don’t do that stuff for the medal. The thing is real heroes do whatever it is simply because it is what needs to be done, at that moment, in that instant in time. It isn’t anything anyone can plan to do. You can’t just “join” and become a hero. You can buy the medal but what does it mean? When I joined the Navy in 1971 I was issued a National Defense Medal. I was authorized to wear that on my uniform, and combined with 25 cents would get me a cup of coffee. I read where after August of 2022 it is no longer issued. Well, I can’t get a cup of coffee for a quarter anymore either.
My certificate. Just a conversation piece. I participated.
An aging man living in a confusing world. I was born and raised in East Hampton, yes “the Hamptons” but not rich, not famous and definitely not woke. These are my thoughts, my memories and my opinions. Just the stuff of the regular Joe.
That Cold War medal is there because they call it a commemorative medal. They do it for most everything and is just a way to make money for some company. I’m sure lots of people buy them and display them. I’ll stay with the ones I actually earned, although I’m considered a Cold War vet as well as a Vietnam era vet.
While scrolling down my Facebook page I saw a posting about a Cold War Certificate and Medal. As with the vast majority of those postings I just took a casual glance, not reading the whole posting and doing “research” to determine the validity of what was being presented. Click bait? Some would call it that, but I’m not fishing, and so I didn’t click. I remembered some time back filling out an application for that certificate. I did receive it but it didn’t come with a a medal.
I mentioned that to my wife and she said maybe you should just ask why you didn’t get the medal. I thought to myself, it couldn’t hurt to ask. So, I went online to find the information. As with everything else on the internet it can become confusing real quick. It takes a while to get to the real deal, the official legit word on the matter. After wading through all that I discovered the reason I hadn’t received a medal with that certificate. The truth is, the United States federal government has never authorized any medal for cold war service. It doesn’t exist!
The Cold War Victory medal I saw depicted in that post is available for purchase by anyone that wants one. I have to admit I was a bit shocked by that. I can only assume it is completely legal to produce and sell fake military medals. We have all heard about stolen valor, how dis respectful and pathetic that is, apparently however, it is perfectly legal to purchase it! Except I did look into that a little bit and it is illegal! 18 USC 704 is clear about that. Yet, there it is on Facebook.
I’m not much of a crusader, I won’t be launching any investigations or filing any lawsuits regarding that. I can only assume there is some legal loophole somewhere that allows that to happen. US code is federal law so I’m a bit confused about that. I’ll ask my grandson, an actual law student if he can explain that to me. But I won’t be researching that post and attempting to do anything about that. I didn’t read the whole thing. For me the thing is finding the “final” answer and that is often very difficult to do on the internet.
The thing that does strike me though is why anyone that did serve during that time, the cold war era, and is entitled to that certificate would want to purchase an unauthorized medal? As I said, I have that certificate. I applied for it after seeing something about it on Facebook. I just thought, if I’m entitled to it, I should go ahead and get it. I filled out the application and about six months later the certificate came in the mail. I paid nothing for that, not even postage as I applied online. No medal was included. I now know that’s because there is no actual official medal for that! The idea of just buying one is beyond me. I can’t fathom why you would do that?
The number of medals, certificates and letters of commendation I was awarded over my twenty years of service in the Navy are only of importance to me. I do have a few of those items displayed around my home, as conversation pieces. They are the props for my “sea stories.” There are a few I wished I had earned back in the day, but I was just too lazy or not interested at the time to do so. Every medal, award, or certificate isn’t for heroism. The majority of them are more like participation trophies, I was on the team. I have an entire stack of “letters of commendation” for jobs well done. Those I do not have displayed anywhere just stored away in a box somewhere, a curiosity for the future. They are really little more than written, thank you. Nice to get.
Of course all this hero stuff nowadays I just find self serving and a bit disgusting. When everyone is a hero, no one is a hero. The thing is heroes don’t do that stuff for the medal. The thing is real heroes do whatever it is simply because it is what needs to be done, at that moment, in that instant in time. It isn’t anything anyone can plan to do. You can’t just “join” and become a hero. You can buy the medal but what does it mean? When I joined the Navy in 1971 I was issued a National Defense Medal. I was authorized to wear that on my uniform, and combined with 25 cents would get me a cup of coffee. I read where after August of 2022 it is no longer issued. Well, I can’t get a cup of coffee for a quarter anymore either.
My certificate. Just a conversation piece. I participated.
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While scrolling down my Facebook page I saw a posting about a Cold War Certificate and Medal. As with the vast majority of those postings I just took a casual glance, not reading the whole posting and doing “research” to determine the validity of what was being presented. Click bait? Some would call it that, but I’m not fishing, and so I didn’t click. I remembered some time back filling out an application for that certificate. I did receive it but it didn’t come with a a medal.
I mentioned that to my wife and she said maybe you should just ask why you didn’t get the medal. I thought to myself, it couldn’t hurt to ask. So, I went online to find the information. As with everything else on the internet it can become confusing real quick. It takes a while to get to the real deal, the official legit word on the matter. After wading through all that I discovered the reason I hadn’t received a medal with that certificate. The truth is, the United States federal government has never authorized any medal for cold war service. It doesn’t exist!
The Cold War Victory medal I saw depicted in that post is available for purchase by anyone that wants one. I have to admit I was a bit shocked by that. I can only assume it is completely legal to produce and sell fake military medals. We have all heard about stolen valor, how dis respectful and pathetic that is, apparently however, it is perfectly legal to purchase it! Except I did look into that a little bit and it is illegal! 18 USC 704 is clear about that. Yet, there it is on Facebook.
I’m not much of a crusader, I won’t be launching any investigations or filing any lawsuits regarding that. I can only assume there is some legal loophole somewhere that allows that to happen. US code is federal law so I’m a bit confused about that. I’ll ask my grandson, an actual law student if he can explain that to me. But I won’t be researching that post and attempting to do anything about that. I didn’t read the whole thing. For me the thing is finding the “final” answer and that is often very difficult to do on the internet.
The thing that does strike me though is why anyone that did serve during that time, the cold war era, and is entitled to that certificate would want to purchase an unauthorized medal? As I said, I have that certificate. I applied for it after seeing something about it on Facebook. I just thought, if I’m entitled to it, I should go ahead and get it. I filled out the application and about six months later the certificate came in the mail. I paid nothing for that, not even postage as I applied online. No medal was included. I now know that’s because there is no actual official medal for that! The idea of just buying one is beyond me. I can’t fathom why you would do that?
The number of medals, certificates and letters of commendation I was awarded over my twenty years of service in the Navy are only of importance to me. I do have a few of those items displayed around my home, as conversation pieces. They are the props for my “sea stories.” There are a few I wished I had earned back in the day, but I was just too lazy or not interested at the time to do so. Every medal, award, or certificate isn’t for heroism. The majority of them are more like participation trophies, I was on the team. I have an entire stack of “letters of commendation” for jobs well done. Those I do not have displayed anywhere just stored away in a box somewhere, a curiosity for the future. They are really little more than written, thank you. Nice to get.
Of course all this hero stuff nowadays I just find self serving and a bit disgusting. When everyone is a hero, no one is a hero. The thing is heroes don’t do that stuff for the medal. The thing is real heroes do whatever it is simply because it is what needs to be done, at that moment, in that instant in time. It isn’t anything anyone can plan to do. You can’t just “join” and become a hero. You can buy the medal but what does it mean? When I joined the Navy in 1971 I was issued a National Defense Medal. I was authorized to wear that on my uniform, and combined with 25 cents would get me a cup of coffee. I read where after August of 2022 it is no longer issued. Well, I can’t get a cup of coffee for a quarter anymore either.
My certificate. Just a conversation piece. I participated.
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