Begin fulfillment of promise to take care of Veterans and their families by establishing March 29th Vietnam Veterans Day.  Deliver the respect for a generation of Veterans and families who have earned it during the Vietnam War and serving during that Era, but for so long have been deprived. It will be a positive message that our country and its citizens have been yearning for over the decades. Future generations of our nation's defenders and their families will find comfort as they commit their lives to defend our country and our way of life, knowing that their sacrifice and that of their families will not be forgotten. 

The date and need for this special designation is significant for the following reasons:

March 29, 1973 - last combat troops withdrawn from Vietnam

March 29, 1973 - last of the Vietnam War POWs (Prisoners of War) held in North Vietnam arrived home on United States of America soil

March 29, 1974 - Vietnam Veterans Day commemorated by Presidential Proclamation & Public Law 93-232

March 29, 2012 - Vietnam Veterans Day commemorated by Presidential Proclamation & Congress Resolution

March 29, 2016 – Veterans Affairs Medical Centers/Clinics nationwide commemorated Vietnam Veterans Day

* PROPOSED LEGISLATION *

On behalf of the citizens of our great nation, the United States of America, and on behalf of the 111th Congress and the President of United States, this legislation is enacted to be an expression of eternal gratitude and respect to those who served during the Vietnam War Era and to be commemorated as Vietnam Veterans Day on the 29th of March of each year in perpetuity.

This Official Day of Recognition will serve as a vivid reminder that: 

On March 29, 1973, the last 2,500 troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam thus ending military involvement in what is now the longest war in our country’s history, and

On March 29, 1973, the last of the Vietnam War POWs (Prisoners of War) held in North Vietnam arrived home on United States of America soil, and

March 29, 1974 was declared Vietnam Veterans Day by Presidential order and the support of Congress with Public Law 93-232, and

March 29, 2012 was declared Vietnam Veterans Day by Presidential Proclamation with the support of Congress on the eve of the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the beginning of the Vietnam War, and

58,315 honorable and brave souls who fought and died during the Vietnam War, ones who are missing, and those who died since from the consequences of that war, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

The men and women who served with dedication, honor, and pride during the Vietnam War, both in country and in support of those in harm’s way as well as those protecting our freedoms at home and throughout other parts of the world at that time, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

The families, whose loved ones gave their lives for our country during the Vietnam War or died later as a consequence of it, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

The families of those men and women who came home with the physical and emotional wounds of the Vietnam War and committed to a lifetime of care and support for their loved one, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

The fellow citizens who stood by and supported, the families of the fallen as well as the Vietnam veterans who returned and their families without reservation and with loving care and respect, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

The professionals and volunteers who committed themselves to the loving care and healing of the bodily and emotionally wounded from the Vietnam War at home, and have already the utmost gratitude of those they cared for and of their families, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

The men and women of our Allies who served with dedication, honor, and pride alongside our Nation’s defenders during the Vietnam War, both in country and in support of those in harm’s way as well as those protecting our freedoms and throughout other parts of the world at that time, deserve the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

This expression of gratitude and respect to the Vietnam Veterans and their families will also give hope and assurance, to current and future generations of our Nation’s Defenders and their respective families, that their sacrifice and service will not be forgotten and deserving of a distinct recognition of the eternal gratitude and respect of this nation, and

And this expression of gratitude and respect for the honorable sacrifice and service by the Vietnam Veterans and past as well as current and future generations of our nation’s defenders and their respective families, needs to remain in the hearts and thoughts of our fellow citizens forever, passed on from generation to generation.