HLS 23RS-450 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 12
BY REPRESENTATIVE DUBUISSON
MILITARY AFFAIRS: Memorializes congress to take such actions as necessary to
establish the "Agent Orange Veterans Service Medal"
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to establish
3 the "Agent Orange Veterans Service Medal" to commemorate the service and
4 sacrifice of veterans who were exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide during the
5 Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.
6 WHEREAS, for generations, millions of Americans have answered the call to serve
7and taken the sacred oath to defend and preserve our nation's ideals of liberty and
8democracy; and
9 WHEREAS, such valiant men and women sacrifice their personal safety and time
10with their families to protect the individual and collective freedom guaranteed to all
11Americans; and
12 WHEREAS, more than eight million citizens of this country honorably served during
13the Vietnam War, during which time Agent Orange was widely used in Vietnam by the
14United States Armed Forces as part of the herbicidal warfare program Operation Ranch
15Hand from 1961 until 1971; and
16 WHEREAS, nearly twenty million gallons of the orange powder were sprayed over
17the land from helicopters or low-flying aircraft, destroying vegetation and crops in order to
18deprive enemy guerrillas of food and cover for their activities and exposing more than two
19million American soldiers to the herbicide and defoliant chemical; and
20 WHEREAS, Agent Orange is a dioxin and cancer-causing chemical that enters the
21body through physical contact or ingestion and moves into the human cell nucleus, where
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HCR NO. 12
1it attacks the genes and causes a number of serious illnesses, including leukemia, lymphoma,
2myeloma, ischemic heart disease, soft tissue sarcoma, amyloidosis, diabetes, and cancers of
3the throat, prostate, lung, and colon; and
4 WHEREAS, Agent Orange also causes genetic damage, and in some cases, the
5children and grandchildren of veterans exposed to Agent Orange have been born with spina
6bifida and other abnormalities; and
7 WHEREAS, today, only eight hundred thousand Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent
8Orange are alive, and approximately three hundred deaths occur among them every day; and
9 WHEREAS, while fallen comrades are memorialized at the Vietnam Veterans
10Memorial in Washington, D.C., those veterans who are victims of Agent Orange are not
11recognized as fatalities of the Vietnam War; and
12 WHEREAS, it is most appropriate that we should honor these veterans to the full
13extent of our ability, as they have made untold and innumerable sacrifices to preserve the
14liberties we enjoy today and that our progeny will hopefully continue to cherish for
15generations to come.
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
17memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to establish a
18commemorative military service medal to be known as the "Agent Orange Veterans Service
19Medal" to honor and recognize the victims of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War for
20their courageous service to our nation as some of America's most heroic citizens.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
22presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States
23Congress and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 12 Original 2023 Regular Session DuBuisson
Memorializes congress to take such actions as are necessary to establish the "Agent Orange
Veterans Service Medal".
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