ASSEMBLY, No. 2150

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblyman  WAYNE P. DEANGELO

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblyman  HERB CONAWAY, JR.

District 7 (Burlington)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Creates New Jersey Cold War medal.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  

An Act creating a New Jersey Cold War medal and supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statues.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    a.     The Governor may present in the name of the State of New Jersey a Cold War medal of appropriate design to any person who is a resident of the State, or who was a resident on the date of commencement of service with the organized militia or the federal military, and who was honorably discharged after completion of not less than 180 days of service during the Cold War.

     b.    No more than one medal shall be awarded to any person, except that a medal that is lost, destroyed, or rendered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part of the person to whom it was issued may be replaced.

     c.     Determination of eligibility for a Cold War medal shall be the responsibility of the Adjutant General or his designee.

     d.    The medal may be awarded for a deceased person or a person missing in action and, when so directed, may be presented to such representative as the Adjutant General considers appropriate, who submits all of the required forms and documentation on behalf of that person.

     e.     The Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs shall receive requests for the medal from an eligible person or an appropriate representative, who shall use the application form required by the department, attaching a copy of the federal DD Form 214 or WD Form 53 and death certificate copy, as applicable.

     f.     For the purpose of this section, "Cold War" means the period beginning on September 2, 1945 and ending on December 26, 1991. 

 

     2.    There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special, non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Cold War Medal Fund."  There shall be deposited into the fund the amounts made available for the purposes of the fund and monetary donations that may be received from any source for the purposes of the fund and any interest earned thereon.  Monies deposited in the fund shall be dedicated for the design, manufacture, and distribution of the medal. 

 

     3.    This act shall take effect six months from the date of enactment, but the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

 

     This bill creates a Cold War medal to be presented by the Governor to a veteran who is a resident of the State, or who was a resident on the date of commencement of service, in recognition of his or her honorable service during the Cold War between the dates of September 2, 1945 and December 26, 1991, inclusive.

     The Cold War was a long and costly struggle between the forces of freedom and democracy led by the United States and the forces of communism led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.  The Cold War started after World War II and ended with the collapse of the government of the Soviet Union in December of 1991.  Tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines, and air force personnel served during this period of crisis and struggle and some paid with their lives to protect the freedom and democracy we have today.