| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, Proud veterans of the Vietnam War are gathering at |
|
|
Veterans of Foreign Wars Golding Meadows Post 1475 in Amarillo to |
|
|
celebrate Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day on March 30, 2013; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Starting in 1961, the United States provided |
|
|
military advisors to the Republic of Vietnam in that nation's |
|
|
struggle against the Communist government of North Vietnam and the |
|
|
guerilla fighters of the Viet Cong; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, |
|
|
the U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, empowering |
|
|
President Lyndon Johnson to commit American troops to the conflict, |
|
|
and by the end of 1965, 80,000 Americans were serving in Vietnam, a |
|
|
number that grew to 543,000 by 1969; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, During the course of the war, more than 58,000 |
|
|
members of the U.S. armed forces lost their lives and 300,000 more |
|
|
were wounded; all the Americans who served their nation during that |
|
|
time not only endured the hardships of living and fighting far from |
|
|
home, they often unjustly bore the brunt of the public's increasing |
|
|
disapproval of the conflict; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In January 1973, the Treaty of Paris required the |
|
|
withdrawal of all American forces from South Vietnam, yet even |
|
|
though the United States withdrew its combat and combat support |
|
|
units from the country by March 30 of that year, the war itself did |
|
|
not end until April 30, 1975, when Saigon, the capital of South |
|
|
Vietnam, fell to the North Vietnamese army; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in |
|
|
Washington, D.C., in 1982, and yet for many years thereafter, the |
|
|
war remained a divisive issue in our nation, with Vietnam veterans |
|
|
again often unfairly taking the blame for circumstances over which |
|
|
they had no control and in spite of their brave and honorable |
|
|
service, for which they never received a formal welcome home; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In February 2011, Congress took the long overdue |
|
|
step of designating March 30 to be Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day |
|
|
as an appropriate way to honor those Americans who served their |
|
|
nation thanklessly in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This year marks the 40th anniversary of the |
|
|
withdrawal of American combat forces from Vietnam, and on that |
|
|
special day, the veterans of Amarillo are gathering to renew the old |
|
|
vows of comradeship and to remember the sacrifice of absent |
|
|
friends; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the celebration of Welcome Home |
|
|
Vietnam Veterans Day at VFW Post 1475 in Amarillo and extend to all |
|
|
those who served in that war the heartfelt welcome home that they so |
|
|
richly deserve; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for VFW Post 1475 as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |
| |
|
|
Smithee |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 1123 was adopted by the House on April |
|
|
10, 2013, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |