Bill Text: CA AJR13 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Veterans cemeteries: Republic of Vietnam veterans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-13 - Referred to Com. on M. & V.A. [AJR13 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AJR13-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 13
| Introduced by Assembly Member Nguyen |
April 20, 2021 |
Relative to Republic of Vietnam veterans.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 13, as introduced, Nguyen.
Veterans cemeteries: Republic of Vietnam veterans.
This measure would urge the United States Congress and the President of the United States to permit states to extend burial and memorial benefits in state veterans cemeteries to Republic of Vietnam veterans who served in the Vietnam War and who subsequently became United States citizens. The measure would urge the United States Congress and the President of the United States to extend the same benefits in national cemeteries.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, or South Vietnamese Armed Forces, were formally established on December 30, 1955, by Ngo Dinh Diem, the first President of South Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces consisted of four branches: the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, the Republic of Vietnam Navy, and the Republic of Vietnam Marine Division; and
WHEREAS, The duties of all four branches included protecting the sovereignty of the free Vietnamese nation and that of the Republic, maintaining the political and social order and the rule of law by providing internal security, defending the newly independent Republic of Vietnam from external and internal threats, and ultimately helping to reunify Vietnam, a country that had been divided since the Geneva Accords of 1954; and
WHEREAS, The Vietnam War brought about the loss of more than 250,000 members of the South Vietnamese Armed Forces and more than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, More than 300,000 members of the United States Armed Forces and more than 1,000,000 members of the South Vietnamese Armed Forces were injured; and
WHEREAS, After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, more than 250,000 members of the South Vietnamese Armed Forces were sent to prison camps, where many spent 18 years or more in captivity and more than 20,000 died before they were released; and
WHEREAS, The end of the Vietnam War left the South Vietnamese Armed Forces in disarray. Many military personnel and their family members fled Vietnam to escape tyrannical authoritarian rule and oppression, and hoped to find democracy and freedom in the United States and other free nations. They spent months at sea and in jungles, battling hunger, thirst, and separation from their families and loved ones; and
WHEREAS, Many of those who reached the United States found refuge in California and in various states throughout the country. They faced socioeconomic challenges, but determined to build entirely new lives here; and
WHEREAS, In the United States, these military personnel continued to fight for their home country and the people there. They have been a strong voice for democracy, religious freedom, and human rights in Vietnam and have contributed culturally and economically to our society and to the diversity of our nation; and
WHEREAS, These veterans were fighting side-by-side with American soldiers against a common enemy and risked their lives to save many American lives. All veterans who risked their lives fighting for freedom should be honored for their distinguished service in the Vietnam War and for the contributions they provide to the United States as American citizens; and
WHEREAS, A citizen of the United States who, during any war in which the United States has or may be engaged, served in the Armed Forces of any government allied with the United States during that war, whose last active service was terminated honorably by death or otherwise, and who was a citizen of the United States at the time of entry into service and at the time of death, is eligible for burial in a national cemetery; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, the federal government extended burial benefits in national veterans cemeteries to certain Hmong refugees who served in American-backed guerrilla units during the Vietnam War and who subsequently became naturalized United States citizens, but states are still unable to permit Hmong veterans to be buried in a state veterans cemetery without risk of losing funding from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Cemetery Grant Program; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to permit states to extend burial and memorial benefits in state veterans cemeteries to Republic of Vietnam veterans who served in the Vietnam War and who subsequently became United States citizens; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to extend burial and memorial benefits in national cemeteries to Republic of Vietnam veterans who served in the Vietnam War and who subsequently became United States citizens; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature stands in solidarity with Republic of Vietnam veterans who served in Vietnam; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to each Senator and Representative from California in the United States Congress, and to the author for appropriate distribution.
