III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 471 

Designating March 29, 2018, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 17, 2018 

Mr. BURR (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating March 29, 2018, 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 United States 

Armed Forces, the armed forces of allies of the United 

States, and the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam; 

Whereas the United States Armed Forces 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; 


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•SRES 471 ATS 

Whereas members of the United States Armed Forces began 

serving in an advisory role to the Government of South 

Vietnam in 1955; 

Whereas 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 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, United States Armed Forces ground combat units arrived in the Republic of Vietnam to join an 

already present 23,000 United States Armed Forces personnel; 

Whereas, by September 1965, there were between 150,000 

and 190,000 United States Armed Forces troops in Vietnam, and by 1969, a peak number of United States 

Armed Forces troops in Vietnam of approximately 

549,500 troops was reached, including United States 

Armed Forces members supporting the combat operations from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and aboard Navy 

vessels; 

Whereas, on January 27, 1973, the Agreement on Ending 

the War in Vietnam and Restoring Peace (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; 

Whereas, on March 29, 1973, the United States Armed 

Forces completed the withdrawal of combat units and 

combat support units from South Vietnam; 


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•SRES 471 ATS 

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 United States 

Armed Forces lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and 

more than 300,000 members of the United States Armed 

Forces were wounded in Vietnam; 

Whereas, in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in the District of Columbia to commemorate the 

members of the United States Armed Forces 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 

United States public to acknowledge and honor the efforts and services of those veterans; 

Whereas 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 decisions of policymakers that were beyond the control of 

those members of the United States Armed Forces; and 

Whereas designating March 29, 2018, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

Day’’ would be an appropriate way to honor the members 

of the United States Armed Forces who served in South 

Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates March 29, 2018, as ‘‘Vietnam 

3 Veterans Day’’; 


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•SRES 471 ATS 

1 (2) honors and recognizes the contributions of 

2 veterans who served in the United States Armed 

3 Forces in Vietnam during war and during peace; 

4 (3) encourages States and local governments to 

5 designate March 29, 2018, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

6 Day’’; and 

7 (4) encourages the people of the United States 

8 to observe Vietnam Veterans Day with appropriate 

9 ceremonies and activities that— 

10 (A) provide the appreciation that veterans 

11 of the Vietnam War deserve; 

12 (B) demonstrate the resolve that the peo13 ple of the United States shall never forget the 

14 sacrifices and service of a generation of vet15 erans who served in the Vietnam War; 

16 (C) promote awareness of the faithful serv17 ice and contributions of the veterans of the 

18 Vietnam War— 

19 (i) during service in the United States 

20 Armed Forces; and 

21 (ii) to the communities of the veterans 

22 since returning home; 

23 (D) promote awareness of the importance 

24 of entire communities empowering veterans and 

25 the families of veterans in helping the veterans 


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•SRES 471 ATS 

1 readjust to civilian life after service in the 

2 United States Armed Forces; and 

3 (E) promote opportunities for veterans of 

4 the Vietnam War— 

5 (i) to assist younger veterans return6 ing from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 

7 in rehabilitation from wounds, both seen 

8 and unseen; and 

9 (ii) to support the reintegration of 

10 younger veterans into civilian life. 

Æ 


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