HB 1229 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
01/04
HOUSE BILL 1229
AN ACT declaring March 30 as Welcome Home Veterans Day to honor veterans of Vietnam.
SPONSORS: Rep. Shurtleff, Merr 10; Rep. Jennifer Coffey, Merr 6; Rep. Pantelakos, Rock 16; Rep. Swinford, Belk 5; Rep. Baldasaro, Rock 3; Rep. Bettencourt, Rock 4
COMMITTEE: State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs
This bill requires the governor to issue an annual proclamation recognizing March 30 as Welcome Home Veterans Day to honor veterans of Vietnam.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2281
01/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT declaring March 30 as Welcome Home Veterans Day to honor veterans of Vietnam.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Findings. The general court finds:
I. In 2009, the United States Congress, by separate Senate and House Resolutions, declared that a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day should be established; and
II. The Vietnam War was fought in Vietnam from 1961 to 1975, and involved North Vietnam and the Vietcong in conflict with the United States and South Vietnam; and
III. The United States became involved in Vietnam because policymakers in the United States believed that if South Vietnam fell to a communist government, communism would spread throughout the rest of southeast Asia; and
IV. Members of the United States Armed Forces began serving in an advisory role to the South Vietnamese in 1961; and
V. As a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents on August 2 and August 4, 1964, the United States overwhelmingly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (P.L. 88-408), on August 7, 1964, which effectively handed over the war-making powers to President Lyndon Johnson until such time as “peace and security” had returned to Vietnam; and
VI. In 1965, there were 80,000 United States troops in Vietnam and, by 1969, a peak of approximately 543,000 troops was reached; and
VII. On January 27, 1973, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which required the release of all United States prisoners of war held in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all United States Armed Forces; and
VIII. On March 30, 1973, the United States Armed Forces completed the withdrawal of combat troops; and
IX. More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000 were wounded; and
X. In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in the District of Columbia to commemorate those members of the United States Armed Forces who died or were declared missing in action in Vietnam; and
XI. The Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue among the people of the United States; and
XII. Upon their return home, members of the United States Armed Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam War were caught in the crossfire of public debate about the involvement of the United States in the war; and
XIII. The establishment of a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day is an appropriate way to honor those members of the United States Armed Forces who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War; and
XIV. Therefore, the general court hereby proclaims March 30 of every year as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day to honor veterans of the Vietnam War.
2 New Section; Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. Amend RSA 4 by inserting after section 13-q the following new section:
4:13-r Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation calling for the proper observance of March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day to honor veterans of Vietnam and shall call on the citizens of New Hampshire to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities commemorating this important day in history.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.