Announcing a New Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal

The Secretary of Defense has established the Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal to commemorate the service and sacrifice of military veterans who were instrumental in developing our Nation’s atomic and nuclear weapons programs.

Military veterans eligible for the medal are those who, while performing official military duties during the period of July 1, 1945, to October 1, 1992:

• directly participated in the detonation of an atomic weapon or device;
• directly participated in the cleanup of radioactive material resulting from any such atmospheric detonation or an accident associated with an atomic weapon; or
• were exposed to ionizing radiation resulting from the operational use of atomic weapons during World War II.

The Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) will manage this program and anticipates it will have medals by the end of the year. In the interim, eligible veterans and the next-of-kin (NOK) of deceased eligible veterans will be able to apply for the medal online in the near future. Cold War Patriots will share information on how to apply for the medal as it becomes available by the DoD.

Cold War Patriots wishes to thank the DoD for finally recognizing this special group of military veterans who contributed to our nation’s nuclear defense. Cold War Patriots also recognizes that while over a million civilian nuclear weapons and uranium workers similarly worked in secrecy to build up the U.S.’s nuclear arsenal, they are not recognized under this DoD program. Cold War Patriots was established to recognize the contribution of the nuclear weapons and uranium worker community by connecting them with the benefits they have earned, including monetary compensation and free health benefits. We serve as the nation’s leading voice in advocating for worker benefits, and as a resource providing one-to-one assistance for our members’ personal questions.

We would like to take this opportunity to recognize the many civilian nuclear weapons complex workers’ contributions by inviting all civilian workers to join as a Cold War Patriot member today. Please consider becoming a member today to receive the benefits you have earned.