I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1419 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a 
military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served 
honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 7, 2017 
Mr. YOUNG of Iowa (for himself, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. JONES, Miss RICE of New 
York, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, and Mr. RYAN of Ohio) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the 
award of a military service medal to members of the 
Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold 
War, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cold War Service 
Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. COLD WAR SERVICE MEDAL. 
(a) MEDAL AUTHORIZED.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 57 of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1136. Cold War Service Medal 
‘‘(a) MEDAL
AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary con-
cerned may issue a service medal, to be known as the ‘Cold 
War Service Medal’, to persons eligible to receive the 
medal under subsection (c). 
‘‘(b) DESIGN.—The Cold War Service Medal shall be 
of an appropriate design approved by the Secretary of De-
fense, with ribbons, lapel pins, and other appurtenances. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—Subject to subsection (d), 
a person eligible to be issued the Cold War Service Medal 
is any person who— 
‘‘(1) served on active duty in the armed forces 
for not less than 24 consecutive months during the 
Cold War; 
‘‘(2) was deployed as a member of the armed 
forces outside the continental United States for a 
period of at least 30 days during the Cold War; 
‘‘(3) was a member of a reserve component of 
the armed forces and called or ordered to active duty 
to participate in exercises or operations directly re-
lated to the Cold War, as determined by the Sec-
retary of Defense; or 
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‘‘(4) performed such other service in the armed 
forces during the Cold War as the Secretary of De-
fense may prescribe for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(d) REQUIRED CHARACTERIZATION OF SERVICE.— 
In the case of a person described in subsection (c) who 
is already discharged or released from the armed forces, 
the person is eligible for the Cold War Service Medal only 
if the discharge or release was under honorable conditions 
after service in the armed forces characterized as honor-
able. 
‘‘(e) ONE MEDAL AUTHORIZED.—Not more than one 
Cold War Service Medal may be issued to any person. 
‘‘(f) ISSUANCE TO NEXT-OF-KIN.—If a person de-
scribed in subsection (c) is deceased, the Secretary con-
cerned may provide for issuance of the Cold War Service 
Medal to the next-of-kin of the person. 
‘‘(g) REPLACEMENT.—Under regulations prescribed 
by the Secretary concerned, a Cold War Service Medal 
may be replaced without charge if lost, destroyed, or ren-
dered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part 
of the person to whom it was issued. 
‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The issuance of a Cold War 
Service Medal shall be subject to such regulations as the 
Secretaries concerned shall prescribe for purposes of this 
section. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any 
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regulations prescribed under this subsection are uniform 
to the extent practicable. 
‘‘(i) COLD WAR DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘Cold War’ means the period beginning on September 2, 
1945, and ending on December 26, 1991.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 57 of such title is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘1136. Cold War Service Medal.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary of Defense should take appro-
priate actions to expedite— 
(1) the design of the Cold War Service Medal 
provided for by section 1136 of title 10, United 
States Code (as added by subsection (a)); and 
(2) the establishment and implementation of 
mechanisms to facilitate the issuance of the Cold 
War Service Medal to persons eligible for the 
issuance of the medal under such section. 
Æ 
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