Rick Lazio: “Today, as part of the Defense Authorization Act, we are honoring those Americans who served during the cold war. With…”

“Today, as part of the Defense Authorization Act, we are honoring those Americans who served during the cold war. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a 46-year conflict between the Free World and Soviet totalitarianism ended. Yet little was said to acknowledge the close of this momentous struggle. Perhaps because the cold war was like no other conflict in our Nation's history, we have seemed slow to recognize our debt to those who made victory possible. We have passed a supreme test of our national character. This 46-year-long struggle placed unprecedented burdens on our Nation. We lived with the threat of a nuclear war that could shatter the Earth's environment and destroy civilization. We shouldered the awesome responsibilities of standard-bearer for the Free World. We sent our military personnel to the far corners of the globe. During the cold war, dedicated Americans, in and out of uniform, rose to the long-term challenge of protecting their democratic institutions and the future of the Free World. Some 24 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines served around the world. More than 100,000 lost their lives fighting communism in Korea, Vietnam, and other foreign battlegrounds. Our intelligence personnel vigilantly monitored our adversaries. Our diplomats held alliances together, defused crises, and negotiated treaties to limit the risk of nuclear war.”