Boxer, Burr Introduce "Vietnam Veterans Day" Legislation
Measure Would Honor the Service of All Vietnam Veterans
Mar 01, 2013 (Menafn - Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) --Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Richard Burr (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate Military Family Caucus, today introduced legislation that would encourage the President to issue a proclamation each year designating March 29 as "Vietnam Veterans Day" to honor all members of our Armed Forces who served during the Vietnam War.
"Each and every American service member who sacrifices for our country deserves to be welcomed home by a grateful nation," Senator Boxer said. "Establishing a national day of recognition for veterans of the Vietnam War will honor their service and show the deep appreciation we feel for these brave men and women."
"Despite serving honorably and bravely in Vietnam, our soldiers arrived home to a country in political turmoil and never received the recognition they deserved," Senator Burr said. "By setting March 29th aside as a day to remember and thank our Vietnam veterans, we can show our unified gratitude for their service and the sacrifices they made on our behalf."
More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000 were wounded. The Burr-Boxer bill would establish a "Vietnam Veterans Day," honoring all Vietnam veterans annually on the date the last American combat forces withdrew from Vietnam, according to the terms of the Paris Peace Accords.
Last year, President Obama issued a proclamation designating March 29, 2012 as "Vietnam Veterans Day" following a bipartisan, bicameral letter http://boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/052611a.cfm led by Senators Boxer and Burr requesting that he designate March 29 as a national day of observance to honor our Vietnam veterans. In recent years, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have unanimously passed resolutions expressing support for a national "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day."
The Senators introduced similar legislation in the 112th Congress.
Read this original document at: http://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/022813c.cfm
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