[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5971-S5972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 34--RELATING TO THE OBSERVANCE OF ``IN 
                              MEMORY'' DAY

  Mr. SPECTER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 34

       Whereas many of the individuals who served in the Armed 
     Forces and in civilian roles in Vietnam during the Vietnam 
     War have since died, in part as the result of illnesses and 
     conditions associated with service in Vietnam during that 
     war;
       Whereas these men and women, whose ultimate health 
     conditions had a basis in their service in Vietnam during the 
     Vietnam War, sacrificed their lives for their country in a 
     very real sense;
       Whereas under criteria established by the Department of 
     Defense, the deaths of these men and women do not qualify as 
     Vietnam War deaths;
       Whereas under Department guidelines, these men and women 
     also do not meet the criteria for eligibility to have their 
     names inscribed on the Memorial Wall of the Vietnam Veterans 
     Memorial in the District of Columbia;
       Whereas ``In Memory'' Day was established several years ago 
     in order to honor the Americans who gave their lives in 
     service to their country as a result of service in Vietnam 
     but had not otherwise been honored for doing so;
       Whereas ``In Memory'' Day is now a project of the Vietnam 
     Veterans Memorial Fund;
       Whereas to date 633 Americans have met the criteria for 
     eligibility to be honored by the ``In Memory'' Program; and
       Whereas the Americans who have been named by the ``In 
     Memory'' Program are honored each year during a ceremony at 
     the Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that ``In 
     Memory'' Day should be observed on the third Monday in April 
     each year, the day on which Patriots Day is also observed, in 
     honor of the men and women of the United States whose deaths 
     had a basis in their service in Vietnam during the Vietnam 
     War and who are thereby true examples to the Nation of 
     patriotism and sacrifice.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, today I submit a concurrent resolution 
which would express the Sense of the Congress that the third Monday in 
April be designated ``In Memory Day.'' In Memory Day will be a time for 
family and friends to gather and commemorate the supreme sacrifice made 
by their loved ones as their names are read from the In Memory Honor 
Roll at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as was done most recently on 
April 19, 1999. I feel this to be a small yet fitting tribute to those 
whose lives were ultimately claimed by the war in Vietnam.
  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a solemn reminder that the defense 
of liberty is not without loss. The 58,214 servicemembers who gave 
their lives in Vietnam will forever be memorialized in a most fitting 
manner. Their names, inscribed in granite walls, symbolize the reality 
that our nation's military personnel protects America behind walls 
built with the blood of patriots. We must keep them in our memory 
always.
  Not all of those who died, however, are commemorated on the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial. Unaccounted for are those succumbed to the ravages 
of psychological wounds upon their return home. Unaccounted for are all 
those who died after war's end, yet whose deaths were intrinsically 
linked to wartime service. Their family members and loved ones have no 
wall to go to; no names to touch; no memorial to share.
  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) runs an ``In Memory 
Program'' to honor these silent fallen. As part of this program, the 
VVMF keeps an ``In Memory Honor Roll'' to commemorate those who served 
and

[[Page S5972]]

died prematurely, but whose deaths do not fit the parameters for 
inclusion upon the Wall. It it time for Congress to do its part in 
honoring these brave soldiers and their families.

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