PRINTER'S NO. 1524
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1160
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY MASTRIANO, ARGALL, BAKER, COSTA, CULVER, GEBHARD,
HUTCHINSON, KANE, MARTIN, PHILLIPS-HILL, ROTHMAN AND VOGEL,
APRIL 16, 2024
REFERRED TO VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
APRIL 16, 2024
AN ACT
Amending Title 38 (Holidays and Observances) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in veteran recognition, providing for
Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 38 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
ยง 1306. Vietnam War Veterans Day.
(a) Legislative findings and declarations.--The General
Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The Vietnam Conflict was fought in Vietnam from 1961
to 1975 and involved North Vietnam and the Viet Cong in
conflict with the United States and South Vietnam.
(2) The United States became involved in the Vietnam
Conflict because policymakers in the United States believed
that if South Vietnam fell to a communist government then
communism would spread throughout the rest of Southeast Asia.
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(3) Members of the United States Armed Forces began
serving in an advisory role to South Vietnam in 1961.
(4) As a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents on
August 2 and 4, 1964, the Congress of the United States
overwhelmingly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Public
Law 88-408) on August 7, 1964, effectively handing over
warmaking powers to President Lyndon B. Johnson until the
time of the return of peace and security to Vietnam.
(5) In 1965, United States Armed Forces ground combat
units arrived in Vietnam.
(6) By the end of 1965 there were 80,000 United States
troops in Vietnam.
(7) By 1969, a peak of approximately 543,000 troops was
reached.
(8) On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were
signed, requiring the release of all United States prisoners
of war held in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all United
States Armed Forces from South Vietnam.
(9) On March 29, 1973, the United States Armed Forces
completed the withdrawal of combat troops from Vietnam.
(10) On March 30, 1973, the last of the United States
Armed Forces landed at home.
(11) More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed
Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000
members were wounded.
(12) The Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue
among the people of the United States and a conflict that
caused a generation of veterans to wait too long for the
public of the United States to acknowledge and honor the
efforts and services of those veterans.
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(13) The members of the United States Armed Forces who
served bravely and faithfully for the United States during
the Vietnam War were often wrongly criticized for the
decisions of policymakers that were beyond the control of
those members.
(14) In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was
dedicated by President Ronald Reagan 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.
(15) In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a
presidential proclamation designating March 29 as the annual
observance of Vietnam War Veterans Day.
(16) In 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed into law
the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 which
designates March 29 each year as National Vietnam War
Veterans Day and amended the United States Flag Code to
include National Vietnam War Veterans Day as a day on which
the flag should be flown.
(b) Designation.--March 29 of each year is designated as
Vietnam War Veterans Day in this Commonwealth.
(c) Proclamation.--The Governor shall issue annually a
proclamation encouraging all public schools and educational
institutions to observe Vietnam War Veterans Day and conduct
exercises recognizing the contributions of all those involved in
the Vietnam War and remembering the sacrifices they made for
their country. The proclamation may not mandate a public school
or educational institution to participate in the observance.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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