H.R. No. 2242
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The year 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the end
of a decades-long conflict in Vietnam, during which American
service personnel fought alongside South Vietnamese troops to
defend the cause of freedom; and
WHEREAS, Concerned about the threat of a Communist takeover
in Vietnam, the United States began sending material support to the
French forces in that country in 1950, and the flow of military aid
and advisors continued after the French withdrew and Vietnam was
divided in 1954; the number of advisors climbed significantly in
the early 1960s, and in 1962, American helicopter units began to
transport South Vietnamese soldiers in military operations; three
years later, the first American combat troops landed on South
Vietnamese soil; ultimately, more than 2.5 million Americans served
in South Vietnam, with 500,000 seeing actual fighting, and over 3.4
million served in Southeast Asia; and
WHEREAS, During the course of the conflict, more than 58,000
American service members lost their lives and over 150,000 were
seriously wounded; some 2,500 were listed as missing in action,
many of whom remain unaccounted for; losses among South Vietnamese
forces are estimated at a quarter of a million killed and perhaps as
many badly injured, and countless civilians perished; and
WHEREAS, American military involvement in the war ended with
the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973; a few U.S.
troops remained in South Vietnam to guard the American Embassy in
Saigon, but the last of those were withdrawn on April 30, 1975,
hours before the North Vietnamese Army captured the city; in the
days before Saigon fell, approximately 135,000 Vietnamese were
evacuated stateside, most of them military personnel and urban,
educated professionals whose previous associations made them
targets of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese; and
WHEREAS, Over the ensuing decade, the Communists tightened
their grip on the country and 840,000 more people fled, according to
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; some crossed
Cambodia and Laos to reach Thailand, while hundreds of thousands
risked their lives in small, wooden boats; although a large number
reached refugee camps in such places as Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, over 250,000 died at sea
as a result of storms, illness, starvation, or capture by pirates;
and
WHEREAS, The United States has continued to welcome
immigrants from Vietnam; by 2012, this population had reached
almost 1.3 million and constituted the sixth-largest foreign-born
group in the nation; Texas is now home to well over 200,000
Vietnamese Americans, who have made substantial contributions to
the economy, education, public service, science, medicine, the
arts, and many other aspects of society; and
WHEREAS, The observance of this anniversary reminds us of the
magnitude of the sacrifices made and hardships endured in the quest
for freedom, and we pay tribute to those whose lives were lost and
recognize the courage and determination of the Vietnamese people
who came to these shores in search of a better life; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of
the war in Vietnam.
Button
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2242 was adopted by the House on May
21, 2015, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House