[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2914 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2914
To recognize and honor the soldiers of the United States and the
Republic of Korea who served, were wounded, or were killed from 1953
until the present in the defense of the Republic of Korea, to require
the placement of a commemorative plaque at the Korean War Veterans
Memorial in Washington, D.C., and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 19, 2006
Mr. DeWine introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To recognize and honor the soldiers of the United States and the
Republic of Korea who served, were wounded, or were killed from 1953
until the present in the defense of the Republic of Korea, to require
the placement of a commemorative plaque at the Korean War Veterans
Memorial in Washington, D.C., and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``DMZ War Veterans Recognition Act of
2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Korean War, which began in 1950 and ended when the
Korean War Armistice was signed in 1953, is commonly known as
the ``Forgotten War'';
(2) a later war in Korea, known only to some veterans and
their families as the ``Unknown War'' or the ``DMZ War'',
occurred long after the Korean War Armistice was signed in
1953;
(3) according to military documents, the leadership of
North Korea issued a declaration of war against the United
States in a speech in 1966, which read that ``U.S. imperialists
should be dealt blows and their forces dispersed to the maximum
in Asia. . . .'';
(4) the 124th Special Forces unit of North Korea--
(A) was trained--
(i) to destroy the camps and civilians of
the United States;
(ii) to disrupt travel and communication
between the Armed Forces; and
(iii) to sabotage and assassinate the
government officials of South Korea and the
United States; and
(B) repeatedly confronted the soldiers of the
United States and the Republic of Korea when crossing
through the Demilitarized Zone;
(5) since the Armistice was signed, over 40,000 Armistice
violations have occurred, many of which involved troops of the
United States who were stationed in and around Korea;
(6) some of those violations, like the capture of the USS
Pueblo, caught the attention of the media, although most have
not;
(7) since the end of the Korean War, many soldiers of the
United States have died or been wounded in Korea as a result of
hostile fire;
(8) some veterans of the Republic of Korea suffer from
exposure to Agent Orange, which was used during a period that
began in 1968 and ended in 1969 in and around the DMZ;
(9) because the hazardous properties of Agent Orange last
for at least 100 years, soldiers of the United States who later
served in the Demilitarized Zone had been exposed to the
chemical long after the Armed Forces stopped using it;
(10) the military personnel of the United States who served
in the Korean War during the period that began in 1966 and
ended in 1969 received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal;
and
(11) a few of the soldiers who fought and died in the
Korean War have been--
(A) nominated posthumously for the Congressional
Medal of Honor; and
(B) awarded--
(i) the Silver Star or Bronze Star for
valor in combat; and
(ii) the Purple Heart for being wounded in
combat.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Plaque.--The term ``plaque'' means the plaque directed to be
placed at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. under
section 4(a).
(b) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service.
SEC. 4. PLACEMENT OF COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE.
Not later than November 11, 2009, the Secretary shall place on or
near the grounds of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington,
D.C., a plaque to commemorate the sacrifices of those who served, were
wounded, or were killed from 1953 until the present in the defense of
the Republic of Korea, that contains the following inscription (in
which the bracketed space shall include the date on which the plaque is
placed): ``Dedicated to the soldiers of the United States and the
Republic of Korea who served, were wounded, or were killed from 1953
until the present in the defense of the Republic of Korea. The efforts
of those soldiers have enabled the Republic of Korea to develop into a
successful and modern country. Since 1953, the Armed Forces of the
United States experienced more than 40,000 `Armistice violation
incidents.' Those incidents have caused the deaths of over 100 soldiers
of the Armed Forces of the United States and the wounding of hundreds
more from hostile fire in the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding
waters. Unknown to most citizens, the soldiers of the United States and
the Republic of Korea fought and won the `DMZ War' between November
1966 and December 1969. That war caused the majority of the Armistice
casualties. We remember the service, sacrifice, and valor of all of
those soldiers on this 40th anniversary of the start of the DMZ War.
Their fellow soldiers and their families will never forget them. Let
this Plaque aid their countries to remember them as well. Placed this
day, [__________].''.
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