Civilians on front lines should
be eligible for U.S. medals too
By Joe Kirby
Editorial page editor
Marietta Daily Journal
Reprinted by permission

MARIETTA -- Back during World War II, families on the home front would put a star in their window if they had a son or daughter in uniform, and a Gold Star in the window if one perished. We're now at war again.

This war is like no other in our history - and those on the front lines deserve official recognition of a kind seen in no other of our wars. This is a war where large forces are unlikely to square off and we may never hear many, if any, details about victories or defeats.

To a far greater degree than any of the other wars we've fought, it is civilians who are at risk. Indeed, whoever masterminded the September 11 attacks consciously targeted innocent men, women and children rather that more "traditional" targets, like uniformed servicemen.

Our military has developed a constellation of awards for service and heroism. Civilians are not eligible for such awards. But now that they are on the front lines, so to speak, their sacrifices and, in many cases, heroism, should receive special recognition.

Congress took a small step in that direction with last week's passage of a mammoth $343 billion defense bill. It calls for the Department of Defense to create a medal "for the defense of freedom" that will be awarded to civilians employed by the DOD killed or wounded by hostile action.

The bill also calls on the department to develop a comprehensive policy for the awarding of decorations to military and civilian personnel. What's needed, though, is not just a policy, but an actual military-style medal for civilians - three of them would be even more appropriate - and they're needed sooner, not later.

The first medal should be similar in concept to the Purple Heart, the award given to uniformed personnel killed or wounded in the line of duty. A civilian counterpart should be quickly developed and awarded to the families and loved ones of all those who died in the World Trade Center towers, in the Pentagon or in the hijacked planes.

The second medal for civilians would be an award for heroism during the course of a terrorist action. Among the eligible recipients who come immediately to mind are the police and firemen who bravely rushed to their doom in the Trade Center towers and the passengers aboard the hijacked jet who stormed their captors, preventing it from crashing into the Capitol or White House.

The third civilian medal would be similar to the military's campaign medals given to personnel who are in a battle zone, whether they are actually onthe front line or not. In this case, its civilian counterpart would be given to all those who were in the towers or in the targeted wing of the Pentagon but managed to escape with their lives.

New styles of warfare call for new means of honoring those who fight it and those who fall. Those who were on the front lines on Sept. 11 have proven their bravery and deserve a badge of honor from their country - and Congress and the Pentagon should waste no time in creating such honors.

-- 30 --