I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2540

To require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress regarding the 

requirements applicable to the inscription of veterans’ names on the 

memorial wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 19, 2003

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD (for herself and Mr. SIMMONS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress 

regarding the requirements applicable to the inscription 

of veterans’ names on the memorial wall of the Vietnam 

Veterans Memorial.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness to All Viet5 nam Veterans Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 
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1 (1) Public Law 96–297 (94 Stat. 827) author2 ized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., 

3 (the ‘‘Memorial Fund’’) to construct a memorial ‘‘in 

4 honor and recognition of the men and women of the 

5 Armed Forces of the United States who served in 

6 the Vietnam war’’. 

7 (2) The Memorial Fund determined that the 

8 most fitting tribute to those who served in the Viet9 nam war would be to permanently inscribe the 

10 names of the members of the Armed Forces who 

11 died during the Vietnam war, or who remained miss12 ing at the conclusion of the war, on a memorial wall. 

13 (3) The Memorial Fund relied on the Depart14 ment of Defense to compile the list of individuals 

15 whose names would be inscribed on the memorial 

16 wall and the criteria for inclusion on such list. 

17 (4) The Memorial Fund established procedures 

18 under which mistakes and omissions in the inscrip19 tion of names on the memorial wall could be cor20 rected. 

21 (5) Under such procedures, the Department of 

22 Defense established eligibility requirements that 

23 must be met before the Memorial Fund will make 

24 arrangements for the name of a veteran to be in25 scribed on the memorial wall. 
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1 (6) The Department of Defense determines the 

2 eligibility requirements and has periodically modified 

3 such requirements. 

4 (7) As of February 1981, in order for the name 

5 of a veteran to be eligible for inscription on the me6 morial wall, the veteran must have— 

7 (A) died in Vietnam between November 1, 

8 1955, and December 31, 1960; 

9 (B) died in a specified geographic combat 

10 zone on or after January 1, 1961; 

11 (C) died as a result of physical wounds 

12 sustained in such combat zone; or 

13 (D) died while participating in, or pro14 viding direct support to, a combat mission im15 mediately en route to or returning from such 

16 combat zone. 

17 (8) Public Law 106–214 (114 Stat. 335) au18 thorizes the American Battle Monuments Commis19 sion to provide for the placement of a plaque within 

20 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ‘‘to honor those 

21 Vietnam veterans who died after their service in the 

22 Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that service, 

23 and whose names are not otherwise eligible for 

24 placement on the memorial wall’’. 
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1 (9) The names of a number of veterans who 

2 died during the Vietnam war are not eligible for in3 scription on the memorial wall or the plaque. 

4 (10) Examples of such names include the 

5 names of the 74 servicemembers who died aboard 

6 the USS Frank E. Evans (DD–174) on June 3, 

7 1969, while the ship was briefly outside the combat 

8 zone participating in a training exercise. 

9 SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Defense shall conduct 

11 a study that—

12 (1) identifies the veterans (as defined in section 

13 101(2) of title 38, United States Code) who died on 

14 or after November 1, 1955, as a direct or indirect 

15 result of military operations in southeast Asia and 

16 whose names are not eligible for inscription on the 

17 memorial wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; 

18 (2) evaluates the feasibility and equitability of 

19 revising the eligibility requirements applicable to the 

20 inscription of names on the memorial wall to be 

21 more inclusive of such veterans; and 

22 (3) evaluates the feasibility and equitability of 

23 creating an appropriate alternative means of rec24 ognition for such veterans, including any such alter-
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1 natives involving an education center at the Vietnam 

2 Veterans Memorial. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

5 shall submit to Congress a report based on the study con6 ducted under subsection (a). Such report shall include—

7 (1) the reasons (organized by category) that the 

8 names of the veterans identified under subsection 

9 (a)(1) are not eligible for inscription on the memo10 rial wall under current eligibility requirements, and 

11 the number of veterans affected in each category; 

12 (2) a list of the alternative eligibility require13 ments considered under subsection (a)(2); 

14 (3) a list of the alternative means of recognition 

15 considered under subsection (a)(3); and 

16 (4) the conclusions and recommendations of the 

17 Secretary of Defense with regard to the feasibility 

18 and equitability of each alternative considered. 

19 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In conducting the study under 

20 subsection (a) and preparing the report under subsection 

21 (b), the Secretary of Defense shall consult with—

22 (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

23 (2) the Secretary of the Interior; 

24 (3) the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.; 
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1 (4) the American Battle Monuments Commis2 sion; 

3 (5) the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, Inc.; and 

4 (6) the National Capital Planning Commission.

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