[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2153-E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR AND 
                  HONORING THEIR SERVICE TO THE NATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 31, 2009

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the brave 
men and women who served in the Vietnam War. It has been 50 years since 
our first casualties. In 1959, Major Dale Richard Buis and Master 
Sergeant Chester M. Ovnand were ambushed and killed by Ho Chi Minh 
Vietnamese. By 1963, 100 advisors had lost their life in Vietnam. After 
President Kennedy's assassination, history would be left to President 
Johnson, who would lead Americans into one of the most tumultuous times 
in our history.
  In 1964, the reported Gulf of Tonkin incident resulted in a 
Congressional Resolution that allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to 
wage war without a formal declaration. By 1965, the conflict heightened 
and more Americans were subject to the draft. Casualties escalated from 
17,000 to 35,000 a month. In January of 1968, the North Vietnamese 
launched the Tet Offensive, though Americans were able to obtain a 
military victory and recapture most of the area. However, politically 
the tide of support was turning in the United States, and the draft 
continued as protests became louder. Richard Nixon was elected 
President and began covert bombing of Cambodia in 1969. By 1973 the 
last American troops left Vietnam.
  As our American military was sent to do battle in a civil war, they 
had no idea of the life altering experience that would change them and 
their country forever. Vietnam Veterans are the children of the 
greatest generation. And like their fathers and mothers they did their 
job for their country, engaging the enemy on land, in the air, and on 
water--many fighting to their death. In battle survival depended on 
each other. They became numb from the

[[Page E2154]]

constant threat of the war, witnessing their friends injured or killed. 
Brave medics in the field and the doctors, nurses and corps men at 
hospitals worked tirelessly and risked their lives to save countless 
soldiers. There was little time to mourn those that died because no one 
knew what tomorrow would bring. How bravely they answered the call only 
to be scorned by many of their fellow countrymen and women when they 
returned home.
  Now fifty years later, we have a better understanding of the 
extraordinary sacrifice made by this generation of patriots. We 
question, how then could we as a nation fail to understand that the 
soldier follows the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. To disagree is 
our given right but to fail to support our troops who are sent to 
battle should never happen again. Over 58,000 Americans died in 
Vietnam; 14,095 were just 20 years of age and several of them were my 
college classmates. Those men and women had their dreams and names 
forever etched in stone as a reminder that their sacrifice was their 
life. Even those that survived did not return unscathed. Many returned 
home with physical and emotional pains of war to a country that had 
turned a deaf ear to their needs. Those Vietnam Veterans, like the 
generation before, came home to raise their families and continued to 
contribute to our country. Many have passed away, but all have left 
their imprint on their families and our nation.
  For those families still waiting for the return of their soldiers, it 
has been a long, mournful time. Recently John Adam was returned home 
after missing for 41 years. On May 22, 1968, twenty-year-old Air Force, 
Senior Master Sergeant John Adam disappeared while serving in Vietnam. 
His remains were located near Laos and identified through DNA. Now one 
family has closure; however, many of our veterans remain missing and 
the prayers continue.
  So, on September 12, 2009, fifty years after the first casualty in 
Vietnam I, as the United States Representative of Missouri's 5th 
District, will host a Town Hall event at the Truman Library in 
Independence, Missouri, to honor the men and women who courageously 
served in that war--to finally give them the respect and honor they 
deserve as heroes of our country. Madam Speaker, please join me in 
thanking and appreciating the sacrifices of a great generation of 
American Patriots, our Vietnam Veterans.

                          ____________________