II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2255 

To amend chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, to add Welcome Home 

Vietnam Veterans Day as a patriotic and National observance. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2012 

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 amend chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, to 

add Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day as a patriotic 

and National observance. 

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

3 SECTION 1. WELCOME HOME VIETNAM VETERANS DAY. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the Vietnam War was fought in the Repub6 lic of South Vietnam from 1961 to 1975, and in7 volved North Vietnamese regular forces and Viet 

8 Cong guerrilla forces in armed conflict with United 

9 States Armed Forces, allies of the United States, 

10 and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam; 


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1 (2) the United States Armed Forces became in2 volved in Vietnam because the United States Gov3 ernment wanted to provide direct military support to 

4 the Government of South Vietnam to defend itself 

5 against the growing Communist threat from North 

6 Vietnam; 

7 (3) members of the United States Armed 

8 Forces began serving in an advisory role to the Gov9 ernment of the Republic of South Vietnam in 1961; 

10 (4) as a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents 

11 on August 2 and 4, 1964, Congress overwhelmingly 

12 passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Public Law 

13 88–408), on August 7, 1964, which provided the au14 thority to the President of the United States to 

15 prosecute the war against North Vietnam; 

16 (5) in 1965, United States Armed Forces 

17 ground combat units arrived in Vietnam; 

18 (6) by the end of 1965, there were 80,000 

19 United States troops in Vietnam, and by 1969, a 

20 peak of approximately 543,000 troops was reached; 

21 (7) on January 27, 1973, the Treaty of Paris 

22 was signed, which required the release of all United 

23 States prisoners-of-war held in North Vietnam and 

24 the withdrawal of all United States Armed Forces 

25 from South Vietnam; 


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1 (8) on March 29, 1973, the United States 

2 Armed Forces completed the withdrawal of combat 

3 units and combat support units from South Viet4 nam; 

5 (9) on April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese reg6 ular forces captured Saigon, the capitol of South 

7 Vietnam, effectively placing South Vietnam under 

8 Communist control; 

9 (10) more than 58,000 members of the United 

10 States Armed Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and 

11 more than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces 

12 were wounded; 

13 (11) in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 

14 was dedicated in the District of Columbia to com15 memorate those members of the United States 

16 Armed Forces who died or were declared missing-in17 action in Vietnam; 

18 (12) the Vietnam War was an extremely divisive 

19 issue among the people of the United States and a 

20 conflict that caused a generation of veterans to wait 

21 too long for the United States public to acknowledge 

22 and honor the efforts and services of such veterans; 

23 (13) members of the United States Armed 

24 Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the 

25 United States during the Vietnam War were often 


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1 wrongly criticized for the policy decisions made by 4 

2 presidential administrations in the United States; 

3 (14) the establishment of a ‘‘Welcome Home 

4 Vietnam Veterans Day’’ would be an appropriate 

5 way to honor those members of the United States 

6 Armed Forces who served in South Vietnam and 

7 throughout Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War; 

8 and 

9 (15) March 29 would be an appropriate day to 

10 establish as ‘‘Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans 

11 Day’’. 

12 (b) WELCOME HOME VIETNAM VETERANS DAY.— 

13 Chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 145. Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day 

16 ‘‘The President may issue each year a proclama17 tion— 

18 ‘‘(1) designating March 29 as Welcome Home 

19 Vietnam Veterans Day; 

20 ‘‘(2) honoring and recognizing the contributions 

21 of veterans who served in the United States Armed 

22 Forces in Vietnam during war and during peace; 

23 ‘‘(3) encouraging States and local governments 

24 to establish a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans 

25 Day; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) encouraging the people of the United 

2 States to observe Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans 

3 Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide the appreciation veterans of 

6 the Vietnam War deserve, but did not receive 

7 upon returning home from the war; 

8 ‘‘(B) demonstrate the resolve that never 

9 again shall the people of the United States dis10 regard and denigrate a generation of veterans; 

11 ‘‘(C) promote awareness of the faithful 

12 service and contributions of the veterans of the 

13 Vietnam War during military service as well as 

14 to the communities of the veterans since return15 ing home; 

16 ‘‘(D) promote awareness of the importance 

17 of entire communities empowering veterans and 

18 the families of veterans in helping the veterans 

19 readjust to civilian life after military service; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(E) promote opportunities for veterans of 

22 the Vietnam War to assist younger veterans re23 turning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 

24 in rehabilitation from wounds, both seen and 


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1 unseen, and to support the reintegration of 

2 younger veterans into civilian life.’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions for chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘145. Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.’’. 

Æ 


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