STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator FRED H. MADDEN, JR.
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Senator JOHN A. GIRGENTI
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Van Drew
SYNOPSIS
Requires New Jersey DMVA to issue Cold War certificates to Cold War veterans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act requiring the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to issue Cold War certificates to Cold War veterans and supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Adjutant General shall present in the name of the State of New Jersey a Cold War certificate 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 Armed Forces of the United States, and who was honorably discharged after completion of not less than 180 days of active service during the Cold War.
b. No more than one certificate shall be awarded to any person, except that a certificate 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 certificate shall be the responsibility of the Adjutant General or his designee.
d. The certificate 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 certificate 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, inclusive.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Adjutant General of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to issue Cold War certificates to Cold War veterans. The certificate would be presented to veterans who are State residents, or who were residents on the date of commencement of service with the Armed Forces of the United States, in recognition of their 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.