[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8592-S8593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING INDIANA SERVICEMEMBERS AND ALL AMERICANS WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM

  Mr. DONNELLY. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the service and 
sacrifice of Indiana servicemembers and their families and of all 
Americans who served during the Vietnam war, as this year marks the 
40th anniversary of the end of that war.
  Here is picture from the Indiana Historical Society of some of the 
amazing Americans who served during that time. Tens of thousands of 
Hoosiers bravely answered the call when they volunteered or were 
drafted to serve in Vietnam in almost every single capacity you could 
think of.
  Bravely, and sadly, 1,243 Hoosier soldiers gave their lives in 
service to our country in Vietnam. In Vietnam, our vets endured 100-
plus degree heat, monsoon rains, snake-infested rice paddy fields, 
staggering conditions, and incredibly dangerous situations.
  Our servicemembers would rather have been at home in Terre Haute, 
Richmond, Indy, Evansville or Fort Wayne, but they served because they 
loved our country and they answered when our Nation called them, and 
their answer was: Count on me.
  At the end of the war, many of our Vietnam vets didn't receive the 
welcome home or the recognition they deserved. Not all received huge 
hugs when they hit the tarmac back in America, but our Vietnam vets are 
heroes just like those who stormed the beaches in Normandy, trudged 
through frozen rivers in Korea, and went through the deserts of Iraq 
and the mountains of Afghanistan. Our Vietnam vets deserve to be held--
and are held--in the same high regard as those who fought in World War 
I, World War II, Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Our Vietnam vets are 
part of the seamless fabric that has saved our country and made it such 
a blessed place.
  Today, our Vietnam vets get amazing receptions everywhere they go. In 
my home State of Indiana, a town in northern Indiana, LaPorte, IN, in 
LaPorte County, has their big parade every year on July 4. The streets 
are filled--5, 6, 7, 8 people deep for 2\1/2\ miles long--and every 
year the parade is led off by the Vietnam veterans of LaPorte County, 
and it happens all over our State. When the parade starts off, everyone 
gets out of their chairs and stands up--even those who have challenges 
and have difficulties--to applaud our men and women who were in 
Vietnam, and for 2\1/2\ miles they get an amazing standing applause the 
entire way. These vets are our parents, our brothers and sisters, our 
aunts and uncles, our grandparents, friends, neighbors, and the folks 
who are sitting next to us in church on Sunday.
  Our Vietnam veterans support and lead our communities as public 
servants, teachers, lawyers, nurses, business owners, factory workers, 
and bankers. Just about anything you can imagine--that is what our 
Vietnam vets are doing to make our country a greater place. They are a 
generation of veterans who have taught us about love of country and 
service, and they deserve to be honored for their selflessness and 
sacrifice.
  Today, Indiana is home to nearly 150,000 Vietnam war veterans. We 
have a responsibility to provide them with the benefits and support 
they have earned and to show them the same commitment they demonstrated 
while they fought to protect us and our freedoms more than 4 decades 
ago.
  We must ensure our veterans have access to timely and quality care at 
local VAs across our State and country, and that this care is delivered 
in a way that meets their needs. Expanding access to health care for 
our Hoosier vets has been and will continue to be a constant top 
priority of mine.
  We recently broke ground in St. Joseph County, IN, on the new St. 
Joseph County Health Care Center. It will mean that many of our local 
vets in northern Indiana will be just a short ride away from the health 
services they have worked so hard to earn and receive.
  We must continue to expand options for care, for example, through the 
Veterans Choice Program, which is bipartisan legislation that is now 
law. Provisions from our bipartisan servicemember and veteran mental 
health care package were signed into law recently as part of the 
national defense bill.
  We are working every day to try to make sure our veterans have the 
chance to receive good physical health care and good mental health care 
and that we stand next to them and with them every step of the way. Our 
bipartisan Community Provider Readiness Recognition Act was included, 
and it helps connect Hoosier servicemembers and vets with local 
providers who can deal with the unique challenges that folks who were 
in our military face.
  The demand for care among our vets has never been greater and our 
obligation to them has never been greater. In recognition of their 
service and sacrifice, we must deliver on our promise to care for all 
veterans long after their last day in uniform.
  I have another picture here from the Indiana Historical Society. This 
is another group of our young soldiers. When they went off, as I said 
earlier, they didn't complain and didn't make excuses, and when our 
Nation called, as I said before, they said: Count on me.
  We must keep the promises we made to our vets. We must keep those 
promises for their entire lives. Our Vietnam vets and their families 
made incredible sacrifices. We can do a better job of

[[Page S8593]]

giving them the recognition and support they deserve. We must do so 
through words and action. In our everyday daily lives let us remember 
those who have sacrificed so much to defend our Nation and our freedom. 
Let us preserve their legacy and follow their example of service to 
others.
  When you see someone wearing a ball cap that says Vietnam vet, World 
War II vet, Korean vet, Iraq or Afghanistan vet, say thanks. My guess 
is they will say: Thank you; I was just doing my job. But they were 
doing so much more than just their job. They were protecting our Nation 
and making sure that our children and our children's children had a 
chance to grow up in this most blessed of all places.
  God bless every American and Hoosier veteran who served in Vietnam. 
God bless their families. God bless Indiana, and God bless America.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Indiana for his 
great remarks. I thank him for making them today.

                          ____________________