[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1788 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1788

To extend the Vietnam Service Medal to veterans of the Armed Forces who 
          participated in the S.S. Mayaguez rescue operation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2017

  Mr. Meadows (for himself and Ms. Gabbard) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To extend the Vietnam Service Medal to veterans of the Armed Forces who 
          participated in the S.S. Mayaguez rescue operation.

    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 ``Recognizing Mayaguez Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. AWARD OF VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL TO VETERANS WHO PARTICIPATED IN 
              MAYAGUEZ RESCUE OPERATION.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The Secretary of the military department 
concerned shall, upon the application by or on behalf of an individual 
who is an eligible veteran, award that individual the Vietnam Service 
Medal, notwithstanding any otherwise applicable requirements for the 
award of that medal. Any such award shall be made in lieu of any Armed 
Forces Expeditionary Medal awarded the individual for the individual's 
participation in the Mayaguez rescue operation.
    (b) Treatment of Deceased Veterans.--In the case of a veteran who 
is deceased, the application described in subsection (a) may be 
submitted by the next of kin of the veteran.
    (c) Eligible Veteran.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``eligible veteran'' means a veteran of the Armed Forces--
            (1) who was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal 
        for participation in military operations known as the Mayaguez 
        rescue operation of May 12-15, 1975; or
            (2) who participated in such operation.
                                 <all>