MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2013 2nd Extraordinary Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Brown

Senate Concurrent Resolution 512

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR AND DESIGNATING MARCH 29 AS AN ANNUAL VIETNAM VETERANS RECOGNITION DAY IN MISSISSIPPI.

      WHEREAS, it is the custom of this Legislative Body to honor those who served in the American Armed Forces during wartime and strengthen our shared commitment to the exercise of freedom.  The President of the United States of America is proclaiming a period of time through the year 2025 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War.  It is the sense of the Mississippi Legislature to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War; and

      WHEREAS, in the late 1950s, the United States began sending advisors to help train the South Vietnamese Army and Air Force to withstand the onslaught from Communist North Vietnam.  American troop involvement in the Vietnam War escalated in the early 1960s, and combat units were deployed beginning in 1965.  More than three million servicemen and women left their families to bravely serve a world away in places such as la Drang to Khe Sanh, from Hue to Saigon, and countless villages in between; they pushed through jungles and rice paddies, heat and monsoons, fighting to protect the ideals we hold dear as Americans.  The anticommunist forces included the United States, Republic of South Vietnam, Republic of Korea, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand and other Asian Nations; and

      WHEREAS, through more than a decade of combat, over air, land, and sea, these proud Americans upheld the highest traditions of United States Armed Forces; and

      WHEREAS, an estimated 227,335 Mississippians served in Vietnam; and

      WHEREAS, today, there are more than 72,368 Vietnam-Era veterans, the largest single block of veterans in Mississippi's population; and

      WHEREAS, where ground combat was sometimes made complicated by unconventional military opposition and difficult terrain, U.S. air superiority remained constant, and throughout the Vietnam War, various policies and strategies were put in place by the U.S. military to take advantage of that strength; and

      WHEREAS, over the course of the conflict, U.S. forces dropped over 7 million tons of bombs through Southeast Asia, compared to 2 million tons dropped during all of World War II; and

      WHEREAS, the large, well-coordinated surprise campaign on cities and U.S. targets throughout South Vietnam, named the Tet Offensive, was North Vietnam's attempt to end the war in one swift blow.  The morning of January 31, 1968, saw many provincial capitals and cities such as Saigon and Hue under siege from large numbers of Communist fighters who had apparently infiltrated the South in the months and weeks leading up to the planned offensive; and

      WHEREAS, in the aftermath, many cities and towns in South Vietnam were devastated with thousands of casualties sustained by forces and civilians in the South; and

      WHEREAS, the North Vietnamese-led Tet Offensive in early 1968 brought a new wave of criticism from the American public as images of those events shocked many across the nation; and

      WHEREAS, Operation Homecoming, a result of the Paris Peace Accords, made possible the return of nearly 600 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam.  Groups of released POWs were selected on the basis of their length of time in prison, with the first group consisting of POWs that had spent 6 to 8 years as prisoners of war.  After Operation Homecoming, about 1,350 Americans were still listed as prisoners of war or missing in action, and another 1,200 Americans were reported killed in action without their bodies being recovered; and

      WHEREAS, beginning on Memorial Day 2012 through November 11, 2025, the federal government began a partnership with local governments, private organizations and communities across the country to participate in the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, a 13-year program to honor and give thanks to a generation of proud Americans who saw our country through one of the most challenging times; and

      WHEREAS, in recognition of the men and women who served with dignity and honor during this historic time period, let us remember them and thank them for their service, which is the unalterable manifestation of our American experience:

      NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby pause to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, and to pay tribute to those who served and to recognize the achievements of these special individuals, fully confident that such procedure mirrors our shared commitment to preserve and ensure our American freedom.

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we do hereby designate March 29 as an Annual Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day in Mississippi to urge the citizens of Mississippi to reflect on the service and sacrifice of many during the Vietnam War, and encourage the United States Congress to designate March 29 as a National Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day in the United States.

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Veterans of Foreign Wars USA, the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Mississippi Department of Veterans' Affairs, and to the members of Mississippi's congressional delegation, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.