III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 69 

Designating March 29, 2019, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 

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

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating March 29, 2019, 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 Armed Forces 

of the United States, the armed forces of allies of the 

United States, and the armed forces of the Republic of 

Vietnam; 

Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States 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 69 IS 

Whereas members of the Armed Forces of the United States 

began serving in an advisory role to the Government of 

South Vietnam in 1955; 

Whereas, as a result of the incidents in the Gulf of Tonkin 

on August 2 and 4, 1964, Congress approved the Gulf of 

Tonkin Resolution (Public Law 88–408) by an overwhelming majority 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, ground combat units of the Armed Forces 

of the United States arrived in the Republic of Vietnam 

to join approximately 23,000 personnel of the Armed 

Forces who were already present there; 

Whereas, by September 1965, between 150,000 and 190,000 

troops of the Armed Forces of the United States were in 

Vietnam, and by 1969, the number of such troops 

reached a peak of approximately 549,500, including 

members of the Armed Forces who were supporting the 

combat operations from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and 

aboard Navy vessels; 

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

the War and Restoring Peace in Viet-Nam (commonly 

known as the ‘‘Paris Peace Accords’’) was signed, which 

required the release of all prisoners-of-war of the United 

States held in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all 

Armed Forces of the United States from South Vietnam; 

Whereas, on March 29, 1973, the Armed Forces of the 

United States completed the withdrawal of combat units 

and combat support units from South Vietnam; 


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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 Armed Forces of 

the United States lost their lives in the Vietnam War, 

and more than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces of 

the United States were wounded in Vietnam; 

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

members of the Armed Forces of the United States 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 

public of the United States to acknowledge and honor the 

efforts and services of those veterans; 

Whereas members of the 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; and 

Whereas designating March 29, 2019, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

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

of the Armed Forces of the United States 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, 2019, as ‘‘Vietnam 

3 Veterans Day’’; 


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1 (2) honors and recognizes the contributions of 

2 the veterans of the Armed Forces of the United 

3 States who served in Vietnam during war and dur4 ing peace; 

5 (3) encourages States and local governments to 

6 designate March 29, 2019, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

7 Day’’; and 

8 (4) encourages the people of the United States 

9 to observe Vietnam Veterans Day with appropriate 

10 ceremonies and activities that— 

11 (A) provide the appreciation that veterans 

12 of the Vietnam War deserve; 

13 (B) demonstrate the resolve that the peo14 ple of the United States shall never forget the 

15 sacrifices and service of a generation of vet16 erans who served in the Vietnam War; 

17 (C) promote awareness of the faithful serv18 ice and contributions of the veterans of the 

19 Vietnam War— 

20 (i) during service in the Armed Forces 

21 of the United States; and 

22 (ii) to the communities of the veterans 

23 since returning home; 

24 (D) promote awareness of the importance 

25 of entire communities empowering veterans and 


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1 the families of veterans in helping the veterans 

2 readjust to civilian life after service in the 

3 Armed Forces; and 

4 (E) promote opportunities for veterans of 

5 the Vietnam War— 

6 (i) to assist younger veterans return7 ing from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 

8 in rehabilitation from wounds, both seen 

9 and unseen; and 

10 (ii) to support the reintegration of 

11 younger veterans into civilian life. 

Æ 


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