III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 130 

Designating March 29, 2015, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27 (legislative day, MARCH 26), 2015 

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

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating March 29, 2015, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans Day’’. 

Whereas the Vietnam War was fought in the Republic of 

South Vietnam from 1961 to 1975, and involved North 

Vietnamese regular forces and Viet Cong guerrilla forces 

in armed conflict with United States Armed Forces, 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 military support to the Government of 

South Vietnam to defend itself against the growing Communist threat from North Vietnam; 

Whereas members of the United States Armed Forces began 

serving in an advisory role to the Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in 1950; 


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•SRES 130 IS 

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 the authority to the President of the United States to prosecute the war against 

North Vietnam; 

Whereas in 1965, United States Armed Forces ground combat units arrived in Vietnam; 

Whereas by September 1965, there were over 129,000 United 

States troops in Vietnam, and by 1969, a peak of approximately 543,000 troops was reached; 

Whereas on January 27, 1973, the Agreement Ending the 

War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam (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; 

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 Vietnam and more than 

300,000 members of the Armed Forces were wounded; 

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

members of the United States Armed Forces who died or 

were declared missing-in-action in Vietnam; 


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•SRES 130 IS 

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 such 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 

policy decisions made by 4 presidential administrations in 

the United States; and 

Whereas designating March 29, 2015, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

Day’’ would be an appropriate way to honor those 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, 2015, as ‘‘Vietnam 

3 Veterans Day’’; 

4 (2) honors and recognizes the contributions of 

5 veterans who served in the United States Armed 

6 Forces in Vietnam during war and during peace; 

7 (3) encourages States and local governments to 

8 designate March 29, 2015, as ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

9 Day’’; and 

10 (4) encourages the people of the United States 

11 to observe the Vietnam Veterans Day with appro12 priate ceremonies and activities that— 


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•SRES 130 IS 

1 (A) provide the appreciation veterans of 

2 the Vietnam War deserve, but did not receive 

3 upon returning home from the war; 

4 (B) demonstrate the resolve that never 

5 again shall the people of the United States dis6 regard and denigrate a generation of veterans; 

7 (C) promote awareness of the faithful serv8 ice and contributions of the veterans of the 

9 Vietnam War during military service as well as 

10 to the communities of the veterans since return11 ing home; 

12 (D) promote awareness of the importance 

13 of entire communities empowering veterans and 

14 the families of veterans in helping the veterans 

15 readjust to civilian life after military service; 

16 and 

17 (E) promote opportunities for veterans of 

18 the Vietnam War to assist younger veterans re19 turning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 

20 in rehabilitation from wounds, both seen and 

21 unseen, and to support the reintegration of 

22 younger veterans into civilian life. 

Æ 


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