Creates New Jersey Cold War medal.

S3588

SENATE, No. 3588

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

���� Creates New Jersey Cold War medal.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

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. ��