[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 LET US BRING JUSTICE TO THE COMMANDOS

  (Ms. SANCHEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to an 
injustice suffered by over 300 men of the Vietnam war, an injustice 
that spans three decades.
  During the war, the United States Government trained a number of 
South Vietnamese commandos to infiltrate North Vietnam Communist 
operations. Many of these commandos were captured and brutally tortured 
during their years of imprisonment and sustained long-term injuries.
  There are about 300 commandos currently living throughout the United 
States. It is now time for our Nation to recognize their heroic war 
efforts and compensate the few surviving commandos and their families.
  The Pentagon has failed to carry out the unanimous will of the 104th 
Congress to pay these brave men an average of $40,000 each for their 
time in captivity. In fact, while the Pentagon has delayed, three of 
the commandos have perished.
  The House Committee on Appropriations has the opportunity to fully 
recognize their service on behalf of the United States as they consider 
the supplemental appropriations bill this week. It is the least we can 
do to recognize their enormous sacrifice.
  Let us not turn our backs on the commandos.

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