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After the Vietnam war ended in 1975, Congress was quite reluctant to fund another war.
But Soviet/Cuban communism was spreading in Central America.
Insurgent Guerrilla units were attacking small countries to the point that many believed WW lll was near.
The president sent hundreds of thousands of troops, mostly National Guard Soldiers from most states, to Honduras to stop the spread of Communism.
He labeled the deployments as a training mission even though it was more hostile than 28 other combat operations.
These soldier were armed with live ammo and live grenades, their bases were attacked.
The war spanned the years of 1979 to 1992, 72 killed, 6 MIA, 43 Purple Hearts, dozens wounded in action.
Yet Congress has NOT recognized these soldiers with a Campaign or Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, since this war was NOT designated a combat zone.
VFW and American Legion Posts are working to correct this disservice to our Military Service members.
They have drafted a resolution to honor the sacrifices of those that served in Honduras.
These posts in Iowa are simply asking our state government, including legislators to support this effort by influencing our US Congress.
North Dakota has already adopted VFW Resolution 419-Honduras.
Probably most, like myself, know a soldier or a family that had a family member that served in Honduras.
While their service has NOT been recognized nationally, they stemmed the spread of Communism and quite possibly prevented WW lll.
Leland Graber
Wayland, Iowa
