ENROLLED
       2012 Legislature                                         SM 1080
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20121080er
    1  
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to initiate and support nationwide
    4         efforts to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end
    5         of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War
    6         and demonstrate the nation’s appreciation for the
    7         honorable service and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, the Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict
   10  that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1,
   11  1955, until the United States Congress passed the Case-Church
   12  amendment in 1973 which prohibited the further use of American
   13  military forces in the conflict, and
   14         WHEREAS, 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the
   15  United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, and
   16         WHEREAS, there are an estimated 650,000 Vietnam veterans in
   17  the State of Florida, and
   18         WHEREAS, because of the intense public opposition to the
   19  war that existed at the time, members of the United States Armed
   20  Services returned home to an unprecedented lack of formal
   21  positive recognition of the honorable service they had provided
   22  on behalf of their country and the tremendous sacrifices they
   23  had made, and
   24         WHEREAS, the lack of formal “Welcome Home” parades and
   25  other traditional celebrations for returning soldiers that were
   26  common in previous military conflicts in which the United States
   27  was engaged, coupled with verbal and sometimes physical abuse,
   28  resulted in great disillusionment, undeserved indignity, and
   29  often great suffering and anguish among returning Vietnam
   30  veterans, and
   31         WHEREAS, many of these brave men and women are now reaching
   32  an advanced age, and
   33         WHEREAS, March 30, 2013, will mark the official date of the
   34  40th anniversary of the end of the United States’ involvement in
   35  the Vietnam War, and
   36         WHEREAS, on that date this nation will be presented with a
   37  unique and historic opportunity to hold appropriate observances
   38  and long-overdue recognition ceremonies that will honor our
   39  nation’s aging Vietnam War veterans and that may finally provide
   40  these brave men and women a fitting expression of gratitude and
   41  a measure of healing and official closure that has been denied
   42  them for decades and that they so greatly deserve, and
   43         WHEREAS, the importance of the commemoration of the 40th
   44  anniversary of the end of the United States’ involvement in the
   45  Vietnam War and the opportunity that such an historical
   46  anniversary presents to attempt to rectify past injustices and
   47  ingratitude cannot be stressed strongly enough, and
   48         WHEREAS, it is fitting and appropriate that the United
   49  States Congress initiate and support efforts at the national
   50  level to mark this historic anniversary and to attempt to
   51  redress the lack of appropriate recognition and undeserved
   52  ingratitude that so many of these brave servicemen and
   53  servicewomen received upon returning home, and
   54         WHEREAS, as part of a national effort, it is also requested
   55  that the United States Congress authorize the minting of a 40th
   56  anniversary commemorative medal expressing the nation’s
   57  appreciation for the honorable service of Vietnam veterans, and
   58         WHEREAS, for this historic opportunity to be fully
   59  realized, the United States Congress should act promptly and
   60  decisively, NOW, THEREFORE,
   61  
   62  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   63  
   64         That the Congress of the United States is urged to initiate
   65  and support nationwide efforts to commemorate the 40th
   66  anniversary of the end of the United States’ involvement in the
   67  Vietnam War and demonstrate the nation’s appreciation for the
   68  honorable service and sacrifice of Vietnam veterans.
   69         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, as part of such national
   70  effort, the United States Congress is requested to authorize the
   71  minting of a 40th anniversary commemorative medal expressing the
   72  nation’s appreciation for the honorable service of Vietnam
   73  veterans.
   74         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
   75  dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
   76  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
   77  United States House of Representatives, to each member of the
   78  Florida delegation to the United States Congress, and to the
   79  legislative governing body of each of the other 49 states of the
   80  United States.