I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1172 

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 

FEBRUARY 16, 2007 

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD 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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON REQUIREMENTS FOR IN2 SCRIPTION OF VETERANS’ NAMES ON MEMO3 RIAL WALL OF VIETNAM VETERANS MEMO4 RIAL. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) Public Law 96–297 (94 Stat. 827) author7 ized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., (in 

8 this section referred to as the ‘‘Memorial Fund’’) to 

9 construct a memorial ‘‘in honor and recognition of 

10 the men and women of the Armed Forces of the 

11 United States who served in the Vietnam war’’. 

12 (2) The Memorial Fund determined that the 

13 most fitting tribute to those who served in the Viet14 nam war would be to permanently inscribe the 

15 names of the members of the Armed Forces who 

16 died during the Vietnam war, or who remained miss17 ing at the conclusion of the war, on a memorial wall. 

18 (3) The Memorial Fund relied on the Depart19 ment of Defense to compile the list of individuals 

20 whose names would be inscribed on the memorial 

21 wall and the criteria for inclusion on such list. 

22 (4) The Memorial Fund established procedures 

23 under which mistakes and omissions in the inscrip24 tion of names on the memorial wall could be cor25 rected. 


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1 (5) Under such procedures, the Department of 

2 Defense established eligibility requirements that 

3 must be met before the Memorial Fund will make 

4 arrangements for the name of a veteran to be in5 scribed on the memorial wall. 

6 (6) The Department of Defense determines the 

7 eligibility requirements and has periodically modified 

8 such requirements. 

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

10 of a veteran to be eligible for inscription on the me11 morial wall, the veteran must have— 

12 (A) died in Vietnam between November 1, 

13 1955, and December 31, 1960; 

14 (B) died in a specified geographic combat 

15 zone on or after January 1, 1961; 

16 (C) died as a result of physical wounds 

17 sustained in such combat zone; or 

18 (D) died while participating in, or pro19 viding direct support to, a combat mission im20 mediately en route to or returning from such 

21 combat zone. 

22 (8) Public Law 106–214 (114 Stat. 335) au23 thorizes the American Battle Monuments Commis24 sion to provide for the placement of a plaque within 

25 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ‘‘to honor those 


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1 Vietnam veterans who died after their service in the 

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

3 and whose names are not otherwise eligible for 

4 placement on the memorial wall’’. 

5 (9) The names of a number of veterans who 

6 died during the Vietnam war are not eligible for in7 scription on the memorial wall or the plaque. 

8 (10) Examples of such names include the 

9 names of the 74 servicemembers who died aboard 

10 the U.S.S. Frank E. Evans (DD–754) on June 3, 

11 1969, while the ship was briefly outside the combat 

12 zone participating in a training exercise. 

13 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Defense shall conduct 

14 a study that— 

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

16 101(2) of title 38, United States Code) who died on 

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

18 result of military operations in southeast Asia and 

19 whose names are not eligible for inscription on the 

20 memorial wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; 

21 (2) evaluates the feasibility and equatability of 

22 revising the eligibility requirements applicable to the 

23 inscription of names on the memorial wall to be 

24 more inclusive of such veterans; and 


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1 (3) evaluates the feasibility and equatability of 

2 creating an appropriate alternative means of rec3 ognition for such veterans, including any such alter4 natives involving an education center at the Vietnam 

5 Veterans Memorial. 

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

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

8 shall submit to Congress a report based on the study con9 ducted under subsection (b). Such report shall include— 

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

11 names of the veterans identified under subsection 

12 (b)(1) are not eligible for inscription on the memo13 rial wall under current eligibility requirements, and 

14 the number of veterans affected in each category; 

15 (2) a list of the alternative eligibility require16 ments considered under subsection (b)(2); 

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

18 considered under subsection (b)(3); and 

19 (4) the conclusions and recommendations of the 

20 Secretary of Defense with regard to the feasibility 

21 and equatability of each alternative considered. 

22 (d) CONSULTATIONS.—In conducting the study under 

23 subsection (b) and preparing the report under subsection 

24 (c), the Secretary of Defense shall consult with— 

25 (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 


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1 (2) the Secretary of the Interior; 

2 (3) the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.; 

3 (4) the American Battle Monuments Commis4 sion; 

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

6 (6) the National Capital Planning Commission. 

Æ 


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