Published Jun 8, 2026, 9:29 AM EDT
Several states support change for combat soldiers, pushing for federal action.
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Published Jun 8, 2026, 9:29 AM EDT
Army veterans Ian Rutherford and Richard Grell are two of more than 300,000 American service members who were deployed to the Central American Wars between 1982 and 1992. More than three decades later, Grell and Rutherford are dealing with the mental and physical afflictions from multiple deployments to these war zones. Yet, unlike similar combat veterans, Grell and Rutherford are not eligible for certain Veterans Affairs benefits and service commendations from the Department of Defense. However, several states are pushing for federal action to assist these veterans. In early April, North Dakota, Mississippi and Iowa passed resolutions urging Congress to approve the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) bill, allowing veterans of the Central American conflicts the same benefits as combat soldiers. Eight other states: Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Ohio and South Carolina, have all introduced legislation to support soldiers who served in Honduras, and three other states, Delaware, Georgia and Maine, have agreed to support the measure and plan to introduce legislation later this year, according to Rutherford. In addition, national veteran service organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) have joined the cause.
