[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 912 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 912
Expressing support for the designation of March 29, 2020, as ``Vietnam
Veterans Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2020
Ms. Dean (for herself, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Steube, Mr. Pappas, Mr.
Takano, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mrs. Radewagen, Mr. Peterson, Ms.
Brownley of California, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Courtney, and Mr.
Harder of California) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of March 29, 2020, as ``Vietnam
Veterans Day''.
Whereas the Vietnam war was fought in the Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975
and involved regular forces from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and
Viet Cong guerrilla forces in armed conflict with the Armed Forces of
the United States, the Armed Forces of allies of the United States, and
the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam;
Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States became involved in Vietnam because
the United States Government wanted to provide direct support by the
Armed Forces to the Government of the Republic of Vietnam to defend
against the growing threat of communism from the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces of the United States began serving in an
advisory role to the Government of the Republic of Vietnam in 1955;
Whereas, as a result of the incidents in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2 and 4,
1964, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Public Law 88-
408) by an overwhelming majority on August 7, 1964, which provided to
the President of the United States the authority to use armed force to
assist the Republic of Vietnam in the defense of its freedom against the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam;
Whereas, in 1965, ground combat units of the Armed Forces of the United States
arrived in the Republic of Vietnam to join approximately 23,000
personnel of the Armed Forces who were already present there;
Whereas, by September 1965, between 150,000 and 190,000 troops of the Armed
Forces of the United States were in Vietnam, and by 1969, the number of
such troops reached a peak of approximately 549,500, including members
of the Armed Forces who were supporting the combat operations from
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and aboard Navy vessels;
Whereas, on January 27, 1973, the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring
Peace in Viet-Nam (commonly known as the ``Paris Peace Accords'') was
signed, which required the release of all prisoners-of-war of the United
States held in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all Armed Forces of
the United States from South Vietnam;
Whereas, on March 29, 1973, the Armed Forces of the United States completed the
withdrawal of combat units and combat support units from South Vietnam;
Whereas, on April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese regular forces captured Saigon, the
capital of South Vietnam, effectively placing South Vietnam under
Communist control;
Whereas more than 58,000 members of the Armed Forces of the United States lost
their lives in the Vietnam war, and more than 300,000 members of the
Armed Forces of the United States were wounded in Vietnam;
Whereas, in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in the District of
Columbia to commemorate the members of the Armed Forces of the United
States who died or were declared missing in action in Vietnam;
Whereas the Vietnam war was an extremely divisive issue among the people of the
United States and a conflict that caused a generation of veterans to
wait too long for the public of the United States to acknowledge and
honor the efforts and services of those veterans;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the
United States during the Vietnam war were often wrongly criticized for
the decisions of policymakers that were beyond the control of those
members; and
Whereas designating March 29, 2020, as ``Vietnam Veterans Day'' would be an
appropriate way to honor the members of the Armed Forces of the United
States who served in South Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia during
the Vietnam war: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses support for designating ``Vietnam Veterans
Day'';
(2) honors and recognizes the contributions of the veterans
of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in Vietnam
during war and during peace;
(3) encourages States and local governments to designate
``Vietnam Veterans Day''; and
(4) encourages the people of the United States to observe
Vietnam Veterans Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities
that--
(A) provide the appreciation that veterans of the
Vietnam war deserve;
(B) demonstrate the resolve that the people of the
United States shall never forget the sacrifices and
service of a generation of veterans who served in the
Vietnam war;
(C) promote awareness of the faithful service and
contributions of the veterans of the Vietnam war--
(i) during service in the Armed Forces of
the United States; and
(ii) to the communities of the veterans
since returning home;
(D) promote awareness of the importance of entire
communities empowering veterans and the families of
veterans in helping the veterans readjust to civilian
life after service in the Armed Forces; and
(E) promote opportunities for veterans of the
Vietnam war--
(i) to assist younger veterans returning
from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in
rehabilitation from wounds, both seen and
unseen; and
(ii) to support the reintegration of
younger veterans into civilian life.
<all>