Authorizes the President to annually issue a proclamation: (1) designating March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day, (2) honoring and recognizing the contributions of veterans who served in Vietnam during war and peace, (3) encouraging state and local governments to establish a Vietnam Veterans Day, and (4) encouraging the people of the United States to observe such Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 409 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 409
To add Vietnam Veterans Day as a patriotic and national observance.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 28, 2013
Mr. Burr (for himself and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To add Vietnam Veterans Day as a patriotic and national observance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. VIETNAM VETERANS DAY.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Vietnam War was fought in the Republic of South
Vietnam from 1961 to 1975, and involved North Vietnamese
regular forces and Viet Cong guerrilla forces in armed conflict
with United States Armed Forces, allies of the United States,
and the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam;
(2) the United States Armed Forces became involved in
Vietnam because the United States Government wanted to provide
direct military support to the Government of South Vietnam to
defend itself against the growing Communist threat from North
Vietnam;
(3) members of the United States Armed Forces began serving
in an advisory role to the Government of the Republic of South
Vietnam in 1950;
(4) as a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents on August 2
and 4, 1964, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution (Public Law 88-408), on August 7, 1964, which
provided the authority to the President of the United States to
prosecute the war against North Vietnam;
(5) in 1965, United States Armed Forces ground combat units
arrived in Vietnam;
(6) by September 1965, there were over 129,000 United
States troops in Vietnam, and by 1969, a peak of approximately
543,000 troops was reached;
(7) on January 27, 1973, the Agreement Ending the War and
Restoring Peace in Vietnam (commonly known as the ``Paris Peace
Accords'') was signed, which required the release of all United
States prisoners-of-war held in North Vietnam and the
withdrawal of all United States Armed Forces from South
Vietnam;
(8) on March 29, 1973, the United States Armed Forces
completed the withdrawal of combat units and combat support
units from South Vietnam;
(9) on April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese regular forces
captured Saigon, the capitol of South Vietnam, effectively
placing South Vietnam under Communist control;
(10) more than 58,000 members of the United States Armed
Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000
members of the Armed Forces were wounded;
(11) in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated
in the District of Columbia to commemorate those members of the
United States Armed Forces who died or were declared missing-
in-action in Vietnam;
(12) 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 United States
public to acknowledge and honor the efforts and services of
such veterans;
(13) members of the United States Armed Forces who served
bravely and faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam
War were often wrongly criticized for the policy decisions made
by 4 presidential administrations in the United States;
(14) the establishment of a ``Vietnam Veterans Day'' would
be an appropriate way to honor those members of the United
States Armed Forces who served in South Vietnam and throughout
Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War;
(15) March 29 would be an appropriate day to establish as
``Vietnam Veterans Day''; and
(16) President Obama designated March 29, 2012, as Vietnam
Veterans Day under Presidential Proclamation 8789 (77 Fed. Reg.
20275).
(b) Vietnam Veterans Day.--Chapter 1 of title 36, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 145. Vietnam Veterans Day
``The President may issue each year a proclamation--
``(1) designating March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day;
``(2) honoring and recognizing the contributions of
veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces in
Vietnam during war and during peace;
``(3) encouraging States and local governments to establish
a Vietnam Veterans Day; and
``(4) encouraging the people of the United States to
observe Vietnam Veterans Day with appropriate ceremonies and
activities that--
``(A) provide the appreciation veterans of the
Vietnam War deserve, but did not receive upon returning
home from the war;
``(B) demonstrate the resolve that never again
shall the people of the United States disregard and
denigrate a generation of veterans;
``(C) promote awareness of the faithful service and
contributions of the veterans of the Vietnam War during
military service as well as 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 military service; and
``(E) promote opportunities for veterans of the
Vietnam War to assist younger veterans returning from
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in rehabilitation from
wounds, both seen and unseen, and to support the
reintegration of younger veterans into civilian
life.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 1 of
title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``145. Vietnam Veterans Day.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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