Legion May Add Cold War Vets

Sat., July 22, 2000

From Staff

Last year, Congress recognized the military service of America’s Cold War warriors, and now many veterans in the state’s American Legion halls believe it’s time to admit them to membership.

The Washington state department of the American Legion is scheduled to vote Saturday on a resolution to add veterans of the Cold War-era to the Legion’s ranks during the group’s annual convention here.

The resolution seeks to open Legion membership to all who served honorably in the armed forces from 1945 to 1991.

Last fall, Congress adopted a resolution designating the Cold War as a period from Sept. 2, 1945 to Dec. 26, 1991, and offering certificates of recognition to all members of the armed forces and qualified federal government civilian personnel who served during that time.

There are an estimated 7 million Cold War-era veterans.

“During the period of the Cold War, from the end of World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a global military rivalry,” the resolution says.

“This rivalry, potentially the most dangerous military confrontation in the history of mankind, has come to a close without a direct superpower military conflict.”

If the Washington state resolution for Cold War eligibility is approved, it would be sent to the national Legion convention, which must pass its own resolution asking Congress to amend the charter.

The American Legion membership is growing older - the average age is late 50s - and the organization needs to recruit new and younger members, National Vice Commander Harry Easley said.

Randy Holloway of Quincy, Wash., a Vietnam vet, said he’d like to see a new membership pool from the Cold War.

“Our organization is slowly dying,” he said.

In Washington alone, there are 700,000 people eligible for the American Legion but a membership of only 40,000, said Montaney, who will be the state’s recruitment chairman next year. He didn’t know how many more people might be eligible in this state if the charter were changed to admit Cold War veterans.

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