TITLE: Commemorating the celebration of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day at the VFW Golding Meadows Post 1475 in Amarillo on March 30, 2013.

SUMMARY: Commemorating the celebration of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day at the VFW Golding Meadows Post 1475 in Amarillo on March 30, 2013.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Proud veterans of the Vietnam War are gathering at Veterans of Foreign Wars Golding Meadows Post 1475 in Amarillo to celebrate Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day on March 30, 2013; and WHEREAS, Starting in 1961, the United States provided military advisors to the Republic of Vietnam in that nation's struggle against the Communist government of North Vietnam and the guerilla fighters of the Viet Cong; and WHEREAS, After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, the U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, empowering President Lyndon Johnson to commit American troops to the conflict, and by the end of 1965, 80,000 Americans were serving in Vietnam, a number that grew to 543,000 by 1969; and WHEREAS, During the course of the war, more than 58,000 members of the U.S. armed forces lost their lives and 300,000 more were wounded; all the Americans who served their nation during that time not only endured the hardships of living and fighting far from home, they often unjustly bore the brunt of the public's increasing disapproval of the conflict; and WHEREAS, In January 1973, the Treaty of Paris required the withdrawal of all American forces from South Vietnam, yet even though the United States withdrew its combat and combat support units from the country by March 30 of that year, the war itself did not end until April 30, 1975, when Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the North Vietnamese army; and WHEREAS, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., in 1982, and yet for many years thereafter, the war remained a divisive issue in our nation, with Vietnam veterans again often unfairly taking the blame for circumstances over which they had no control and in spite of their brave and honorable service, for which they never received a formal welcome home; and WHEREAS, In February 2011, Congress took the long overdue step of designating March 30 to be Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day as an appropriate way to honor those Americans who served their nation thanklessly in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia; and WHEREAS, This year marks the 40th anniversary of the withdrawal of American combat forces from Vietnam, and on that special day, the veterans of Amarillo are gathering to renew the old vows of comradeship and to remember the sacrifice of absent friends; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby commemorate the celebration of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day at VFW Post 1475 in Amarillo and extend to all those who served in that war the heartfelt welcome home that they so richly deserve; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for VFW Post 1475 as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Smithee Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1123 was adopted by the House on April 10, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House