[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE SERVICE OF AMERICA'S VETERANS ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
                            THE VIETNAM WAR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
50th Anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War. It is with a profound 
sense of gratitude that I honor the service and sacrifice of our 
nation's Vietnam veterans; the commitment and determination of our 
Armed Forces in the battle for freedom; the unique contributions made 
on the home front by the people of the United States during the war; 
and the crucial contributions made by our allies to stem the spread of 
tyranny.
  By the time John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960, the United 
States and the Soviet Union had already been locked in a bitter 
ideological, political and military struggle for more than a decade 
over the essential question of whether human beings are truly endowed 
by their Creator with the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness. Soviet aggression had already spread across 
Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East; and Soviet Premier Nikita 
Khrushchev had famously declared to the West, ``We will bury you.'' In 
his inaugural address, President Kennedy pledged to ``pay any price, 
bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, and oppose any 
foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.'' It was 
in that spirit, in 1962, that the President sent U.S. military advisors 
to assist the people of South Vietnam to resist the aggression of the 
communist forces of the North.
  Over the course of the next 13 years, more than two-and-a-half 
million American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen 
would serve in Vietnam. Allied nations such as South Korea, Australia, 
New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand all contributed forces and 
materiel to the effort as well. U.S. forces sent to Vietnam were the 
most educated of all of America's previously deployed military forces. 
Nearly eighty percent had a high school degree or better when they 
entered military service. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 
240 days of combat in one year due to the enhanced mobility made 
possible by the helicopter. By way of comparison, the average 
infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days 
of combat in four years. Of those who served in Vietnam, over 150,000 
were wounded, more than 2,500 would become prisoners of war and over 
58,000 would make the ultimate sacrifice for defense of freedom and 
service to our nation.
  On the home front, Americans were, for the first time, able to tune 
in on their televisions and see the war in living color. This 
technology allowed newscasters such as Edward R. Murrow and Walter 
Cronkite to bring daily updates on the war to the American public in 
their own living rooms. The war became the inspiration for popular 
music, movies, and novels. America's experience in Vietnam led to the 
replacement of the military draft with an all-volunteer force, the 
reduction of the voting age to 18, and the passage of the War Powers 
Act. Americans developed a more pragmatic view of their relationship 
with the government, and the war renewed in many Americans a belief in 
the necessity of active involvement in the political process. In 1962, 
no one could possibly have predicted the profound cultural impact the 
war would have on generations of Americans; but Vietnam's lasting 
legacy on the American psyche cannot be denied.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, it is my honor 
to recognize the service and sacrifice of those Americans who served in 
our nation's Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. Their dedication to 
duty, their service to country, and their enormous contribution to 
halting the spread of tyranny around the world bear testament to the 
strength of the American spirit. My wife Vicki joins me in saluting our 
nation's Vietnam War veterans, and we wish them all the best.

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