[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 159 (Wednesday, November 12, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2333-E2334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE VIETNAM WAR: THE MISSING CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY BOOKS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 12, 1997

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, my family and I had the 
opportunity to attend the commemoration of Veterans Day held at the 
Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. My children, ages 9, 11, and 13, 
don't know the meaning of the word ``Vietnam,'' though several times we 
have talked to them about the Vietnam war.
  Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Vietnam war veteran, and now head of our Office 
of National Drug Control Policy, gave a stirring speech about the ones 
who fought the war, reminding us that the price of freedom is very 
high. I also heard the incredible speech of Ann Cunningham, a nurse who 
served two tours of duty in Vietnam and who shared her experiences of 
the war.
  Then I met a group of Vietnam veterans in the rotunda of our Capitol, 
and they advised me that in many school history textbooks the Vietnam 
war is relegated to a simple paragraph. The memory of the 58,000-plus 
men and women who perished in that war deserves more than cursory 
comment.
  Therefore, I am requesting the speeches given by Gen. Barry McCaffrey 
and Ann Cunningham be included in the Congressional Record for today. I 
trust that they will be read by children and serve as a missing chapter 
in our history books.

             Remarks for Veterans Day, Vietnam War Memorial

                       (By Gen. Barry McCaffrey)


                              Introduction

       Senator Hagel, Jan Scruggs, distinguished guests, ladies, 
     gentlemen, fellow Veterans of the Vietnam War.
       In particular the assembled soldiers of B Company, 2-7th 
     Cav who I was privileged to serve with in Vietnam during 
     1968-1969--thank you for your courage and dedication in 
     combat and the joy of our reunion during the past two days.

[[Page E2334]]

       I am especially honored to be here with our keynote 
     speaker, the Honorable Charles Hagel, Senator from Nebraska, 
     who courageously served in Vietnam as a squad leader in the 
     9th Infantry Division. He is one of the seven U.S. Senators 
     and nine Congressmen, members of Congress, who fought in 
     Southeast Asia.
       Today we honor all those who served in Vietnam--both the 
     living and those who never came home.
       A ceremony at this site brings to mind the images of the 
     nearly three and a half million men and thousands of women 
     who served in the Vietnam theater. It also brings into sharp 
     focus the faces of mothers, fathers, young wives, and 
     children who braved the uncertainty of that conflict, waiting 
     with anticipation for the return of loved ones.
       Our country did not treat any of you with the respect, 
     support, and compassion you deserved. It was a shameful blot 
     on our history to send our country's young men and women off 
     to this terrible conflict and then use our soldiers as 
     objects of blame for the divisive political struggle that 
     ripped the nation apart for a decade.
       The names inscribed on this monument are those of men and 
     women who went to Vietnam with their futures ahead of them 
     and who came back home only as memories to their loved ones.
       More than 58,000 died and over 303,000 were wounded. The 
     bloodshed was terrible, and the suffering has not ended. At 
     least 80,000 of our ranks still suffer from severe service-
     connected disabilities; around 6 percent of our Vietnam War 
     comrades suffer from drug abuse or dependence; 11 percent 
     suffer from current alcohol abuse; many are homeless; and 
     others still suffer from war-related psychological and 
     physical problems.
       This continuing heavy human toll demands that we Americans 
     vigorously support the finest possible health care in our 
     Veterans' Administration facilities and sustain strong 
     outreach programs to assist Veterans suffering from drug and 
     alcohol dependency and physical and emotional wounds. Our 
     nation needs to make the sacrifice for those who sacrificed 
     so much in Vietnam.


                              WHO WE WERE

       Who were we, who went to war in Vietnam?
       We were young. Our average age was 19. 60 percent of those 
     killed were 21 or younger. In my unit, B Company 2-7 Cav, 1st 
     Cavalry division, almost all of the troops were between 18 
     and 22--basically young men who rapidly turned into hardened 
     combat soldiers.
       We represented the face of America. We were men and women, 
     rich and poor. 11 percent of our ranks were African-
     Americans. 5 percent were Hispanic.
       We were the best educated troops our nation had ever sent 
     to war. 79 percent of us had a high school education.
       Most of us were volunteers. Many of our best combat 
     soldiers were drafted. More than 70 percent of our killed in 
     action were volunteers. United by circumstance and choice, we 
     risked our lives for fellow soldiers and country.
       We paid a high price for service to our country. A grunt in 
     the 25th Infantry Division had a 75 percent chance of being 
     killed or wounded. One in four marines became a combat 
     casualty. We suffered amputations or crippling wounds at 300 
     percent the rate of our world War II forbears.
       We served honorably. 97 percent of us received honorable 
     discharges.
       We have been successful. Vietnam Veterans enjoy incomes 
     higher than our nonveteran counterparts. We also have an 
     employment rate \1/3\ higher than those who never served in 
     the armed forces.


                            WHAT WE LEARNED

       The Vietnam War officially ended in 1975, more than twenty-
     two years ago. For many of us, nearly three decades have 
     passed since our time in Vietnam. The historians may still be 
     sifting through mountains of documents. However, most of us 
     assembled here already know what we learned from the War.
       1st--We must not commit our youth to war without the 
     support of the American people. For in a democracy, lack of 
     such support produces catastrophic divisiveness and weakening 
     of national will, which are essential to winning.
       2nd--We must not send our sons and daughters to war without 
     a clear understanding of national aims and the costs for 
     achieving them. For failing to articulate these requirements 
     leads to flawed strategies and higher casualties.
       3rd--Victory will be paid for in blood by the men and women 
     who serve and by loved ones at home who must bear 
     separations, recoveries from wounds, and ultimate sacrifices.
       And 4th--As individuals, we learned that to survive and 
     succeed when conditions are appalling and your life is on the 
     line requires: moral and physical courage, competence, self-
     discipline, and trust in your buddies.


                               THE FUTURE

       Our nation needs your help:
       1st, Help Vietnam Veterans in need. Get involved in state, 
     local, and Veteran organizations. offer your energy, time, 
     money, and support.
       2nd, Battle the evil of illegal drugs. Get involved in 
     state, local, and community anti-drug efforts.
       3rd, Improve your community. Get involved in other 
     activities to make your community better. Our nation's 
     leadership system works from the bottom up.


                                 ENDING

       We stand before this black marble wall with row after row 
     of names and salute fallen comrades for their courage. We 
     remember the worlds of poet Laurence Binyon, who wrote at the 
     end of World War I:
     ``They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old,
     Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,
     At the going down of the sun and in the morning
     We will remember them.''
       Thank you Vietnam Veterans for your service to America.
                                                                    ____


                        Speech of Ann Cunningham

       Today is Veterans Day--a day set aside to honor the men and 
     women who have served this country.
       Today is also the 15th anniversary of the dedication of the 
     Vietnam Veterans Memorial--the Wall--which at the time of 
     dedication was scorned and ridiculed as a black gash of shame 
     and today is the most visited of any Memorial in Washington.
       Today is also the 4th anniversary of the dedication of the 
     Vietnam Women's Memorial--which took 10 years to build and I 
     feel would never have been built but for the tenacity and 
     determination of Diane Carlson Evans. People ask me which of 
     the three women remind me of myself. They all remind me of 
     myself at one time or another, but the one I am most drawn to 
     is the kneeling figure. If you look closely at her face you 
     will see pain, sadness, exhaustion, and compassion reflected 
     there. All the women who served in Vietnam and during the 
     Vietnam War had these traits--from the nurse in the operating 
     room, to the nurse in the ICU unit.
       From the Red Cross women who read books and wrote letters 
     for wounded GI's, to the Air Traffic Controllers who brought 
     the planes home after their missions, from the women who 
     counted and tallied up the casualties daily, to the women in 
     Special Services.
       Thirty years ago I was in Vietnam. I was a young, naive 22 
     year old, a year and a half out of nursing school when I 
     joined the Army Nurse Corps. I was two and a half weeks out 
     of basic training the day I landed at Bien Hoa Airbase with 
     about half of my basic class and a greener 2nd Lt. you would 
     never find.
       I was a trained operating room nurse, but I had never seen 
     a trauma patient, let alone a mass casualty situation. 
     Needless to say in the next 12 months I saw many such 
     situations. It was the best of times and the worst of times 
     and it took me 15 years to talk about it. When the Wall was 
     dedicated, I didn't even know about it because I didn't read 
     about Vietnam or watch Vietnam movies.
       When I did see the dedication on TV, part of me was sad 
     that I wasn't there, but in 1982 I wasn't ready to face 
     Vietnam.
       I look at the Wall behind me and I see the names of people 
     I know--Bruce Kennedy and Charlie Warner--I grew up with in 
     Santa Monica, CA. We all went to school together.
       I look behind me and I see the names of people I served 
     with: Leroy Pitts, Al Gaidis, Zeddie Dulin, Chuck Springer, 
     Lowell Morgan and Phil Schmitz.
       I look behind me and I see the names of women who cared 
     enough to volunteer to help other Americans: Carol Drazba, 
     Annie Graham, Elizabeth Jones, Hedwig Orlowski, Eleanor 
     Alexander, Pamela Donovan, Mary Klinker and Sharon Lane.
       I look behind me and I see the name of Gary Jones, a person 
     I loved very much. We went to Vietnam, I came back and he 
     didn't.
       I look behind me and I see the name of patients we were 
     unable to save. One, I especially remember, he is engraved in 
     my mind forever. I was able to find his family and I wrote 
     them a letter. His mother wrote back and these were her 
     words, ``when we received word that our son was wounded, I 
     wanted to go to him, to somehow be there for him, but I could 
     not be there. That is a mother's worst nightmare. You will 
     never know what it means to us to know that before he died, 
     someone was there to care. Thank you for all you did.''
       I think of the friends who have died since Vietnam, whose 
     names are not on the Wall, but maybe ought to be, of BT 
     Collins, whose contributions to the living and the dead will 
     live on forever and of Doug Colliander, who was a friend and 
     died too soon.
       I look behind me at the memorial and think of the friends 
     who have been dead now longer than they lived and of the 
     impact they made on my life.
       To the veterans in the audience today, the veterans of 
     World War I, World War II, Korea, Desert Storm, Somalia, 
     Bosnia and Vietnam, especially Vietnam, I say ``thank you for 
     your service and your sacrifices for your country and welcome 
     home. You are very special people.''

     

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