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MOPH news release
SPRINGFIELD, VA - A bill to improve records of military awards has recently been introduced to Congress. Unfortunately, until it is implemented, the DOD and the FBI will continue to rely heavily on a records data base that was created by private citizen, Doug Sterner. A resident of Colorado, Sterner has digitized names and citations for some 35,000 awards such as Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Army DSM, Navy DSM, |
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and 80,000 of an estimated 120,000 Silver Star recipients. All of this has been accomplished single handedly by Sterner without any outside funding.
According to Henry Cook, the National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, "We are in total support of the 'Military Valor Role Of Honor Act of 2007'. With all of the state-of-the-art electronics we have today, it is a national shame that a Colorado citizen maintains better records of our nation's heroes than our own government does." |
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The bill has also been sugarcoated with loopholes using language such as "waivers" and "expungements" which serve only to create a sea of red tape for veterans to have to navigate.
VetsNet host of Eleven Bravo, Rick Seaman adds, "If a combat vet commits a crime involving a gun, he should be found guilty and punished by our judicial system. If his actions were combat PTSD related, that is a sad fact of life during wartime. But to pre-punish combat heroes who fought for our right to innocence until proven guilty? Bull crap!" |
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