[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING 74 HEROES ON VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL

  (Mr. CRAMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, during one of my recent weekly talk radio 
townhalls, I spoke to a family member of a veteran who served aboard 
the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans during the Vietnam war.
  The Vietnam veteran, Richard Grant, from Fargo, advocates for 
servicemembers who died during the Vietnam war but are not presently 
recognized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here in Washington.
  The USS Frank E. Evans provided naval gunfire off the coast of 
Vietnam, including during the Tet Offensive. While conducting friendly 
maneuvers outside of the official combat zone, it collided with a 
friendly Australian aircraft carrier, killing 74 crewmembers.
  I introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act 
to engrave the names of the 74 crewmembers who died on that day on the 
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. Their sacrifice and that of their 
families is worthy not only of our mention, but of the high honor of 
being memorialized forever on the wall.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to lead this amendment and urge my 
colleagues to support it. I look forward to the day when the wall is 
engraved with the 74 names of the heroes of the USS Frank E. Evans.

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