America’s Honduras veterans served honorably. We owe them recognition. 

For decades, a group of U.S. veterans has carried out a quiet kind of service — one that remains largely unrecognized in the official record of our nation’s military history. I know this firsthand as someone who served in Honduras in 1989, during a period when U.S. forces were actively supporting operations in the region.

Between 1981 and 1992, service members in Honduras were operating in conditions that carried real risk. During that time frame, at least 72 U.S. service members were killed, 48 were awarded Purple Hearts and others were taken prisoner of war or remain listed as missing in action. Yet despite these sacrifices, their service has never received consistent or formal recognition comparable to others of the same era.

This gap in recognition is not without precedent. Veterans who served in neighboring El Salvador during this same period faced a similar lack of acknowledgment until 1996, when they were formally recognized with the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

That decision demonstrated a willingness to revisit past policies and ensure service members received appropriate recognition. The same consideration should now be extended to those who served in Honduras under comparable conditions.

Recent coverage at Military.com has begun to bring........

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