Veterans who faced radiation exposure during the development of the nation’s atomic weapons program were usually sworn to secrecy because of national security requirements during the Cold War.
Now their sacrifices are being recognized with the Pentagon’s establishment of the Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal this week.
The medal, authorized by Congress in a law passed in December, recognizes veterans whose work “directly contributed to our nation’s continued freedom and prosperity during the period following World War II and was pivotal to our nation’s defense during the Cold War,” the Pentagon said in a statement released Tuesday.