Bill Text: HI SR22 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State Capitol; POW/MIA Flag; Korean War; Vietnam War
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-04-07 - Report and Resolution Adopted. [SR22 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-SR22-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
22 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO ORDER THAT WHENEVER THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES IS FLOWN ON A PERMANENT FLAGPOLE IN FRONT OF THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF FAMILIES' POW/MIA FLAG SHALL BE FLOWN ON THE SAME HALYARD.
WHEREAS, in 1971, Mary Helen Hoff developed the idea for a national flag as a reminder of the United States servicemembers who, like her husband, Navy Commander Michael G. Hoff, were Prisoners of War or Missing in Action; and
WHEREAS, by the end of the Vietnam War, the United States Department of Defense listed more than two thousand, five hundred servicemembers as Prisoners of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA); and
WHEREAS, in 1979, the United States Congress and President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. proclaimed the first National POW/MIA Recognition Day to acknowledge the servicemembers' families' concerns and symbolize the steadfast resolve of the American people to never forget the men and women who gave up their freedom while protecting ours; and
WHEREAS, in 1982, the National League of Families' POW/MIA flag became the only flag other than the flag of the United States to fly over the White House in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, the United States Congress passed P.L. 101-355, which designated the POW/MIA flag as "the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation"; and
WHEREAS, in 1998, the Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 105-85) created 36 United States Code section 189a, which addressed the display of the POW/MIA flag; and
WHEREAS, while 36 United States Code section 189a was repealed, the operative language of that section was recodified into 36 United States Code section 902, which requires the POW/MIA flag to be displayed at the United States Capitol, the White House, the building of the office of the United States Secretary of Defense, each major military installation, and other specified locations on six designated days: Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May; Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; Flag Day, June 14; Independence Day, July 4; National POW/MIA Recognition Day; and Veterans Day, November 11; and
WHEREAS, 36 United States Code section 902 requires the POW/MIA flag to be displayed at the federal World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the medical centers of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on any day that the flag of the United States is flown; and
WHEREAS, Section 5-18.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, enacted in 2010, requires the POA/MIA flag to be flown on the grounds of the State Capitol on the same six designated days listed in 36 United States Code section 902, and allows the POW/MIA flag to be flown directly under the flag of the United States if the flag of the State of Hawaii is on a separate halyard from the flag of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Section 5-18.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, allows but does not require the POA/MIA flag to be flown on the grounds of the State Capitol building on other days; and
WHEREAS, the flag of the United States and the flag of the State of Hawaii currently displayed in front of the State Capitol building are on separate permanent flagpoles; and
WHEREAS, the State's Korean and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated on the grounds of the State Capitol in 1994, honors the four hundred fifty-four Hawaii servicemembers in the Korean War and the three hundred twelve Hawaii servicemembers in the Vietnam War who were killed or missing in action; and
WHEREAS, the State's Eternal Flame, dedicated in 1972, stands directly across the street from the flags displayed at the State Capitol, and burns as a tribute to the men and women of Hawaii who have served in our armed forces in the defense of freedom and liberty; and
WHEREAS, neither the State's Korean and Vietnam Veterans Memorial nor the Eternal Flame display the POW/MIA flag on a year-round basis; and
WHEREAS, more frequent displays of the POW/MIA flag in front of the State Capitol building would further remind Hawaii residents of the servicemembers who were never able to return home; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Governor of the State of Hawaii is requested to order that whenever the flag of the United States is flown on a permanent flagpole in front of the State Capitol building, the National League of Families' POW/MIA flag shall be flown on the same halyard; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as long as the flag of the United States and the flag of the State of Hawaii that are displayed in front of the State Capitol building are flown on the different halyards, the Governor is requested to order that the National League of Families' POW/MIA flag be flown directly under the flag of the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in the event the flag of the United States and the flag of the State of Hawaii that are displayed in front of the State Capitol building are flown on the same halyard, the Governor is requested to order that the National League of Families' POW/MIA flag be flown directly under the flag of the State of Hawaii; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Adjutant General; the Director of the Office of Veterans' Services; and the Chairman of the Board of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.
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OFFERED BY: |
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State Capitol; POW/MIA Flag; Korean War; Vietnam War
