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The Forgotten Heroes - NDM Press conference called on the 27th October 2009
Added: (Fri Oct 09 2009)
The shame surrounding the MOD increased during the past few weeks when they made the decision not to recognise the service of the millions of Servicemen and women who have become our ‘Forgotten Heroes’ by the award of a National Defence medal.
This comes at a time of great outpouring of support for our Armed Services by the public and a professed support for restoring the military covenant by the Government and the leaders of all political parties.
Evidence of appropriate recognition for the award of a medal and not just a badge to those who have served in the Armed Forces since the end of the Second World War is overwhelming. The reasons for non-recognition are shallow at best.
The lack of recognition of our ‘Forgotten Heroes’ includes service in Korea (post armistice); the Berlin Airlift; the Cold War, where hundreds of our service men and women died on duty and many more were discharged as a result of their injuries; the IRA atrocities outside of Northern Ireland which saw our soldiers killed and maimed on the streets of Germany and in England, and of course National Service veterans who are now in their 70s and 80s; the list is endless.
Colonel Terry Scriven, the co-Chairman of the National Defence Medal campaign said, “The MOD’s decision is dreadfully wrong. I hope that as this campaign grows with public support the Government, whose responsibility it is to decide on a medal of recognition of service, will speedily review this situation just as they did with the Ghurkha campaign.
I and my campaign colleagues have invited the Prime Minister and the leaders of the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrat Party and UKIP together with other MPs who have shown support for this medal; and Directors of interested organisations such as the Royal British Legion, to what is a fresh launch of this campaign.”
As a member of the media you are invited to attend the re-launch in the Burns Room at the Union Jack Club, Waterloo, London on the 27th October 2009 at 11.15am. Tea and coffee will be available from 10.45 am and you will have an opportunity to speak to veterans of this campaign and hopefully Ministers both before and after the official proceedings.
In the interests of security the Union Jack Club have requested you let the NDM campaign organisers know of your attendance in advance. It would therefore be helpful if you would email n-d-m@hotmail.co.uk of attendance as soon as possible.