[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24972-24974]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        SUPPORT H.R. 3443, FAIRNESS TO ALL VIETNAM VETERANS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Fairness to All 
Vietnam Veterans Act, H.R. 3443. This legislation directs the Secretary 
of Defense to report to Congress an appropriate way to recognize and 
honor Vietnam veterans who died in service of our Nation, but whose 
names are not listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
  Constituents began contacting my District Office regarding 74 members 
who died on the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans who are not listed on the 
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The names of these 74 brave Americans, 
and many others who have lost their lives serving the United States 
during the Vietnam conflict, deserve proper recognition. Some have been 
excluded due to technicalities. We should honor all the men and women 
of the Vietnam conflict who gave their lives serving our country.
  The destroyer Evans was first launched near the end of the Second 
World War and was recommissioned for Korea and again for Vietnam. The 
Evans sailed from the Port of Long Beach for the last time in the 
spring of 1969. After seeing serious combat off the coast of Vietnam, 
the Evans was sent to a brief training exercise called Operation Sea 
Spirit in the South China Sea. This operation involved over 40 ships of 
the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.
  On the morning of June 3, 1969, the crew of the Evans awoke to the 
sounds of the Australian carrier, Melbourne, splitting in half the 
American destroyer Evans. The forward half, where all 74 deaths took 
place, sank in 3 minutes. Although they were in the South China Sea, 
these sailors have been excluded from the wall because their downed 
vessel was just outside the designated combat zone which determines

[[Page 24973]]

inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
  Although these men did not die in direct combat, they were 
instrumental in forwarding American objectives in Vietnam and 
participated in conflict just days before the collision that claimed 
their lives. The historical and personal records of the Evans tell a 
story of valor and patriotism, and, for some, the ultimate sacrifice 
for their country.
  I believe that after examining the important role these men played in 
the Vietnam conflict, I hope you will agree that those who died deserve 
the honor of being listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
  Unfortunately, the case of the Evans does not stand alone. There are 
many families across the United States whose loved ones have been 
excluded from proper recognition.
  I believe it is time for the Department of Defense to examine current 
policies for placement on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. H.R. 3443 
asks for a complete study of the current standards and for an 
examination of those who died, such as those 74 on the Evans, that seem 
appropriate for inclusion on the wall.
  The Fairness to All Vietnam Veterans Act has the support of the 
United States Ship Frank E. Evans Association, as well as hundreds of 
family members across the country, hoping to see loved ones properly 
recognized. I urge my colleagues to support and pass this much-needed 
and overdue piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the bill, as well as various 
comments from Mr. Hennessy, a distinguished columnist of the Press 
Telegram in Long Beach, California.

                               H.R. 3443

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness to All Vietnam 
     Veterans Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Public Law 96-297 (94 Stat. 827) authorized the Vietnam 
     Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., (the ``Memorial Fund'') to 
     construct a memorial ``in honor and recognition of the men 
     and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served 
     in the Vietnam war''.
       (2) The Memorial Fund determined that the most fitting 
     tribute to those who served in the Vietnam war would be to 
     permanently inscribe the names of the members of the Armed 
     Forces who died during the Vietnam war, or who remained 
     missing at the conclusion of the war, on a memorial wall.
       (3) The Memorial Fund relied on the Department of Defense 
     to compile the list of individuals whose names would be 
     inscribed on the memorial wall and the criteria for inclusion 
     on such list.
       (4) The Memorial Fund established procedures under which 
     mistakes and omissions in the inscription of names on the 
     memorial wall could be corrected.
       (5) Under such procedures, the Department of Defense 
     established eligibility requirements that must be met before 
     the Memorial Fund will make arrangements for the name of a 
     veteran to be inscribed on the memorial wall.
       (6) The Department of Defense determines the eligibility 
     requirements and has periodically modified such requirements.
       (7) As of February 1981, in order for the name of a veteran 
     to be eligible for inscription on the memorial wall, the 
     veteran must have--
       (A) died in Vietnam between November 1, 1955, and December 
     31, 1960;
       (B) died in a specified geographic combat zone on or after 
     January 1, 1961;
       (C) died as a result of physical wounds sustained in such 
     combat zone; or
       (D) died while participating in, or providing direct 
     support to, a combat mission immediately en route to or 
     returning from such combat zone.
       (8) Public Law 106-214 (114 Stat. 335) authorizes the 
     American Battle Monuments Commission to provide for the 
     placement of a plaque within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 
     ``to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after their 
     service in the Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that 
     service, and whose names are not otherwise eligible for 
     placement on the memorial wall''.
       (9) The names of a number of veterans who died during the 
     Vietnam war are not eligible for inscription on the memorial 
     wall or the plaque.
       (10) Examples of such names include the names of the 74 
     servicemembers who died aboard the USS Frank E. Evans (DD-
     174) on June 3, 1969, while the ship was briefly outside the 
     combat zone participating in a training exercise.

     SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT.

       (a) Study.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a study 
     that--
       (1) identifies the veterans (as defined in section 101(2) 
     of title 38, United States Code) who died on or after 
     November 1, 1955, as a direct or indirect result of military 
     operations in southeast Asia and whose names are not eligible 
     for inscription on the memorial wall of the Vietnam Veterans 
     Memorial;
       (2) evaluates the feasibility and equitability of revising 
     the eligibility requirements applicable to the inscription of 
     names on the memorial wall to be more inclusive of such 
     veterans; and
       (3) evaluates the feasibility and equitability of creating 
     an appropriate alternative means of recognition for such 
     veterans.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 
     to Congress a report based on the study conducted under 
     subsection (a). Such report shall include--
       (1) the reasons (organized by category) that the names of 
     the veterans identified under subsection (a)(1) are not 
     eligible for inscription on the memorial wall under current 
     eligibility requirements, and the number of veterans affected 
     in each category;
       (2) a list of the alternative eligibility requirements 
     considered under subsection (a)(2);
       (3) a list of the alternative means of recognition 
     considered under subsection (a)(3); and
       (4) the conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary of 
     Defense with regard to the feasibility and equitability of 
     each alternative considered.
       (c) Consultations.--In conducting the study under 
     subsection (a) and preparing the report under subsection (b), 
     the Secretary of Defense shall consult with--
       (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
       (2) the Secretary of the Interior;
       (3) the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.;
       (4) the American Battle Monuments Commission;
       (5) the Vietnam Women's Memorial, Inc.; and
       (6) the National Capital Planning Commission.
                                  ____


                        They Must Be Remembered

                           (By Tom Hennessy)

       There will be speeches this weekend; Memorial Day 
     remembrances of heroic people and hallowed names.
       But those hallowed names are not likely to include the USS 
     Frank E. Evans. Or the 74 largely forgotten crew members who 
     died aboard the destroyer at the height of the Vietnam War.
       And whose names are not listed on the Vietnam Wall.
       This is their story.
       Launched near the end of World War II, recommissioned for 
     Korea and again for Vietnam, the Evans sailed from her home 
     port, Long Beach, in the spring of 1969. It would be her last 
     voyage.
       After combat off the coast of Vietnam, she and her 272-man 
     crew were ordered to join ``Operation Sea Spirit,'' a 
     training exercise involving 40-plus ships of the Southeast 
     Asia Treaty Organization.
       On the morning of June 3, she was in the South China Sea 
     with companion ships that included the Melbourne, an 
     Australian carrier.
       ``I had watched a movie the night before,'' says Tom Manley 
     of Long Beach. ``I'd left my clothes on because I had the 
     early morning watch and had gone to sleep about midnight.''
       At 3:30 a.m., Manley and shipmates were awakened in 
     terrifying fashion.
       ``The whole ship turned over on its side,'' says Manley. 
     ``Everybody fell down. A guy came down the ladder with a 
     flashlight and said . . . that we needed to get out.''
       A boilerman 3rd class, Manley helped shipmates to their 
     feet. One, Pete Taylor, had broken his arm. Together, he and 
     Manley managed to reach the ship's fantail.
       ``A lot of guys were jumping in the water,'' says Manley. 
     ``Pete was worried. Because of his broken arm, he couldn't 
     swim. I said I'd try to find a life jacket in case we had to 
     go into the water. I walked toward the front of the ship 
     where they kept the life jackets.''
       Manley was stunned by what he saw. ``There was no front of 
     the ship. It was gone.''


                            Horrific message

       Aboard the American carrier Kearsage, Doug Care of Santa 
     Clarita was working the Sea Spirit radio circuit.
       ``I had been on the circuit about five minutes when the 
     radio came to life with a fellow with an Australian accent 
     and impeccable radio procedure. He gave a message I'll never 
     forget:
       ``Melbourne has just collided with Evans. Envision many 
     casualties. Request all possible assistance.''
       Care thought it was ``a stupid time'' for a drill. But as 
     he read the message back to the Melbourne, he knew it was no 
     drill. For one thing, ``the admiral aboard the Kearsage was 
     looking over my shoulder still in his bathrobe.''
       In the forward engine room of the Evans, Roy ``Pete'' 
     Peters also knew it was no drill.

[[Page 24974]]

     He had been standing messenger mid-watch when an order came 
     to increase speed, followed by a second order to throttle 
     down and stop.
       We immediately stopped all forward movement and were all 
     thrown forward and down,'' he recalls. ``All the lights went 
     out. Steam immediately filled the compartment and made it 
     hard to breathe.''
       As Peters was slammed to the deck and burned by the steam, 
     the ocean began entering the engine room. It was a mixed 
     blessing.
       ``The cold water felt good, but I was a noqualified swimmer 
     in boot camp and barely made it around the pool to qualify as 
     a swimmer,'' he said
       Peters began working his way toward the top of the engine 
     room, hoping to find an air pocket.
       ``I felt the water rising up my chest toward my face. I 
     knew I was going to die . . . I heard guys praying and 
     crying. I remember hearing Terry Baughman (a shipmate) 
     crying, `God, please help us!'
       ``As the water rose, I could see the faces of my mother and 
     father and I saw the face of my girlfriend, Karen. I promised 
     that if I got out of there, I would go back and marry her if 
     she would have me.''


                              Chaos above

       Crew member Bill Thibeault of Norwich, Conn., managed to 
     get topside.
       ``There were helicopters flying around and lights all over. 
     I didn't really realize what had happened until I got onto 
     the ship's uppermost deck. Then I saw all the torn-up metal 
     and pipes and everything, and I thought, `Where's the rest of 
     the ship?' ''
       The Evans had been struck amidships, and cut in two. The 
     forward half, where all the deaths took place, sank in three 
     minutes. The other half would be destroyed months later in 
     target practice.
       ``I give the Melbourne credit,'' says Manley. ``They turned 
     the ship around and it was back within minutes even though it 
     had damage to its front. They were trying to help us.''
       Cargo nets were lowered on the carrier and its crew ``came 
     down and helped some of our people.
       ``We assembled on the fantail of the Melbourne,'' he says. 
     ``They must have broke out their full ration of Foster lager. 
     There were cases all over the place.''
       Manley and others were transferred to the Kearsage.
       ``It took three days until we got to Subic Bay (in the 
     Philippines),'' he says. ``There was no way to tell anyone 
     who was alive and who wasn't. My sister was calling (the 
     Navy) every day and they wouldn't tell her anything. The Navy 
     wouldn't release any information. When I got to Subic, I was 
     able to call.''
       In New York City, Dorothy Reilly, a Roman Catholic nun, 
     caught the end of a newscast by Walter Cronkite. ``He 
     immediately broke in and said that the Frank E. Evans had 
     been sunk . . . I said out loud, `That's by brother's ship.'
       ``I ran to the radio to see if there was more news. I 
     remembered someone saying that there were two ships with 
     almost the same name, but when I heard on the radio that the 
     ship was from Long Beach, I knew it was the ship my brother 
     was on as well as his 20-year-old son.''
       Lawrence J. Reilly Sr. survived. His son, Lawrence Jr., did 
     not.
       There was a memorial service later for young Lawrence 
     Reilly, who had lived in Long Beach. In the middle of it, his 
     son, 15 months old, cried out, ``Daddy.''
       ``It was a heart-wrenching moment,'' says Dorothy. ``The 
     newspapers carried that picture and even if it were not in 
     print, it would be indelibly printed in the hearts of all who 
     heard that cry.''
       Peters, the Evans crew member who had been sure he was 
     going to die, did not. Someone in the engine room had found a 
     hatch leading to safety.
       Peters was treated aboard the Melbourne for burns, then 
     airlifted to the Kearsage, where he underwent surgery to 
     remove burned skin. He was hospitalized in Subic Bay.
       Of his injuries, he says, ``I am sure others had it 
     worse.''
       Yes, Peters did marry his girlfriend, Karen. They just 
     celebrated their 31st anniversary. Peter has an insurance 
     business in Redondo Beach.
       The captain of the Evans was later reprimanded, ``but most 
     of us survivors never felt he was guilty of anything,'' says 
     Peters.
       The Melbourne's skipper was acquitted and then resigned 
     from the Australian Navy.


                            Three in family

       Seventy-four men, including five from Long Beach, lost 
     their lives aboard the Evans in the dark, early hours of June 
     3, 1969. A list appears with this column, and three names on 
     it resonate like the script from ``Saving Private Ryan'': 
     Gary Loren Sage, Gregory Allen Sage, Kelly Jo Sage.
       They were brothers.
       ``They were also my cousins,'' says Gayle Pierce, of 
     Lincoln, Neb. ``Their memorial is in Niobrara, Neb., their 
     hometown. It is a great memorial.''
       Two years ago, on Memorial Day, a ceremony was held at the 
     Sage Memorial. Eighteen members of the USS Frank E. Evans 
     Association (which will convene in Long Beach in 2003) showed 
     up in Niobrara to honor the three fallen shipmates.
       ``I think it is just wonderful that so many persons have 
     kept the memories of these men alive,'' Pierce says.


                             Missing names

       But on The Vietnam Memorial wall, the nation's most visible 
     reminder of the war, the memory of the lost Evans crew 
     members has not been kept alive. Their names are not listed.
       Why not?
       ``Technicalities,'' Peters says with frustration. ``I've 
     done a lot of research on this.''
       To qualify for the wall, he says, a veteran had to have 
     been killed in the combat zone, en route to it or while 
     returning from a combat mission.
       For the 74 lost Evans men that parameter is very thin, as 
     Peters notes.
       ``We'd been on the gun line for two weeks. We came off the 
     line and rendezvoused with the other ships for Operation Sea 
     Spirit.''
       (A year earlier, appreciative Army officials had cited the 
     Evans for ``Conspicuously outstanding gunfire support in a 
     critical and demanding phase of the war.'')
       Peters and everyone else interviewed for this column 
     believe the names of the men belong on the wall.
       ``I think they should be there,'' says Manley, 54, and 
     accounting manager. ``I had three tours in Vietnam, but I 
     knew guys on that ship who died who had more tours than I 
     did. It's just not right.''
       His wife, Mary, agrees, but more tersely.
       ``It stinks,'' she says.
       Thibeault, the Connecticut survivor, says the lost men 
     should be regarded as combatants.
       ``They weren't killed in action. But we were there. We had 
     fired our guns. These guys should be remembered.''
       He has tried to have them remembered in another way.
       ``I've contacted The History Channel. I've been trying to 
     contact some Hollywood people as well, without any success. 
     There should be a movie about this.''
       Through the years, Manley has remained somewhat tight-
     lipped. Mary says he has only begun to talk about it 
     recently.
       Yet, a few days ago, they note, their daughter, Jennifer, 
     24, asked, ``What's the Evans?''
       Says Manley, ``Maybe I haven't talked about it enough.''

                          ____________________