Rep. Collin Peterson - Announces Republic of Korea War Service Medal

CONGRESSMAN
COLLIN C. PETERSON

Minnesota - 7th District http://www.house.gov/collinpeterson/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 25, 2000
CONTACT: Bill Black/202-225-2165

Congressman Peterson Announces
Republic of Korea War Service Medal

Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. Collin C. Peterson today announced that Korean War veterans may now receive the Republic of Korea War Service Medal for the very first time. The Republic of Korea awarded the medals in 1951, but they couldn’t be issued to American soldiers at the time because federal law prohibited American military personnel from wearing medals awarded by foreign governments.

In 1954, Congress changed the law, but by that time, most of the eligible U.S. service members had returned home. Recently, however, the Republic of Korea renewed its invitation to issue the medal to U.S. service personnel and the Department of Defense accepted.

“In response to requests from our Korean War veterans, the Republic of Korea and the Department of Defense have authorized the issuance of the Republic of Korea War Service Medal to the men and women of this country who fought in the Korean War to preserve freedom and democracy. I encourage all Korean War veterans to take advantage of this special honor from the government of South Korea,” Peterson said. “Our veterans deserve recognition, respect and gratitude for the tremendous sacrifices they made during the war.”

Lt. Col. Anita Minniefield, Director of Public Affairs for the Department of Defense Korean War Commemoration Committee, said the interest in the medals started during the 1995 ceremonies to mark the opening of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington. “Some of the veterans who attended the ceremony were Korean War veterans from other UN countries, and they were wearing the Republic of Korea War Service Medal. Our guys saw the medals and decided they wanted their own,” said Colonel Minniefield.

The Republic of Korea’s Defense Minister Seong Tae Cho explained in a May letter why his government was making the offer to U.S. service men and women of the Korean War. “On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War, the Republic of Korea government decided to issue the [service medal] to pay tribute to the Korean War veterans for their historic endeavors to preserve the freedom of the Republic of Korea and the free world,” the Defense Minister stated.

According to the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee, nearly 1.8 million U.S. veterans of the Korean War are eligible to receive the honor. U.S. military personnel must meet the following criteria in order to qualify for the Republic of Korea War Service Medal:

Served during the period between the outbreak of hostilities on June 25, 1950 and the date the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 (July 27 is National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day).
Served on permanent or temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days.
Served within the territorial lines of Korea or in the waters immediately adjacent to Korea or in aerial flight over Korea while participating in actual combat operations or in support of combat operations.

The medal is free to veterans and will be distributed to eligible U.S. veterans or surviving next of kin,” said Peterson. “I’m proud to help our Korean War veterans achieve this recognition of their service.”

To apply for the medal, veterans should send a copy of their discharge paper, commonly known as a "DD-214," or a corrected version of that document, a "DD-215" along with their current address to Rep. Collin Peterson at any of his local offices:

714 Lake Ave. Suite 107
Detroit Lakes, MN 56501

110 S. 2nd St. Suite 112
Waite Park, MN 56387

2603 Wheat Dr.
Red Lake Falls, MN 56750

National Guard members must provide their statement of service equivalent "NGB Form 22." Veterans are asked to send only copies of these documents, not the original documents themselves.

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