Expressing the sense of the Senate that a `Welcome
Home Vietnam Veterans Day' should be established. (Introduced in Senate)
SRES 269 IS
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 269
Expressing the sense of the Senate that a `Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans
Day' should be established.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 6, 2005
Mrs. BOXER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate that a `Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans
Day' should be established.
Whereas the Vietnam War took place in Vietnam from 1961 to 1975 in which
North Vietnam and the Viet Cong were in conflict with the United States
and South Vietnam;
Whereas the United States became involved in Vietnam because policy makers
in the United States believed that if South Vietnam fell to a communist
government then communism would spread throughout the rest of Southeast
Asia;
Whereas members of the United States Armed Forces began serving in an
advisory role to the people of South Vietnam in 1961;
Whereas, as a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents on August 2, 1964
and August 4, 1964, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Joint Resolution
entitled `Joint Resolution to promote the maintenance of international
peace and security in southeast Asia', approved August 10, 1964 (Public
Law 88-408; 78 Stat. 384), which effectively granted war-making powers
to President Johnson until such time as `peace and security' had returned
to Vietnam;
Whereas, in 1965, ground combat units of the United States Armed Forces
arrived in Vietnam;
Whereas, by the end of 1965, there were 80,000 troops of the United States
Armed Forces in Vietnam, and by 1969 the number of troops reached a peak
of approximately 543,000;
Whereas, on January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, which
required the release of all United States prisoners-of-war held in North
Vietnam and the withdrawal of all members of the United States Armed Forces
from South Vietnam;
Whereas, on March 30, 1973, the United States Armed Forces completed the
withdrawal of combat troops from Vietnam;
Whereas more than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces lost
their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000 members of the United States
Armed Forces were wounded;
Whereas, 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;
Whereas, as of 2005, more than 1,800 members of the United States Armed
Forces remain unaccounted for in Vietnam and Southeast Asia and the Department
of Defense continues efforts to recover these members;
Whereas the Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue among the people
of the United States;
Whereas members of the United States Armed Forces who served bravely and
faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam War were caught, upon
their return home, in the middle of public debate about the involvement
of the United States in the Vietnam War;
Whereas the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 250,000 veterans
are homeless every night and that 47 percent of all homeless veterans
served during the Vietnam era;
Whereas veterans of the Vietnam War continue to be at risk for post-traumatic
stress disorder and health problems related to Agent Orange exposure;
Whereas veterans of the Vietnam War, and all veterans, are entitled to
the best care and treatment the Government of the United States can provide;
Whereas the establishment of a `Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day' would
be an appropriate way to honor those members of the United States Armed
Forces who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War; and
Whereas March 30, 2006 would be an appropriate day to establish as `Welcome
Home Vietnam Veterans Day': Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is
the sense of the Senate that a `Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day' should
be established to honor those members of the United States Armed Forces
who served in Vietnam.
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