[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 5994-5995]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                   40TH ANNIVERSARY OF FALL OF SAIGON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of the last century, a 
godless totalitarian ideology moved from theory to practice when 
Communists took over Russia and a global war against freedom began. In 
the following decades, this ideology slaughtered millions across what 
was the Soviet Union.
  In the 1940s, Communists rolled through mainland China, bringing 
another reign of terror that killed millions more and that still today 
limits freedom for the Chinese people.
  Also in the 1940s, Communists moved into Vietnam. Those living in 
northern Vietnam were its first victims. Like other lands under 
communism's iron grip, Hanoi's rulers killed hundreds of thousands of 
their citizens. Those who desired and had the means fled to the south.
  Throughout the 20th century, America fought against totalitarian 
ideologies that stripped people of human rights and dignity.
  After defeating fascists in World War II, we recognized communism as 
the single greatest threat to freedom. Indeed, well into the cold war, 
President Kennedy proclaimed to the world that we would ``pay any 
price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose 
any foe in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.''
  The cold war at times flared hot, and in Southeast Asia, more than 
58,000 Americans gave the last full measure of their devotion fighting 
for the freedoms for which their nation stands.
  Today we mark the 40th anniversary of the tragic fall of Saigon. In 
doing so, we remember the sacrifices made by our Vietnam veterans and 
their families, sacrifices that continue to today, such as when a Gold 
Star mother or wife looks at the photograph of a son or husband who 
never came home, or when a veteran makes a trip to the local VA for 
chemotherapy for a cancer caused by Agent Orange, or when a 
congressional colleague notices he does not have full use of a limb 
because of the torture he endured as a POW, or when the 65-year-old 
veteran has the same repeated nightmares, or when a 40-something son or 
daughter envisions the father he or she never got to know. The 
sacrifices are noble but painful.
  The cause they fought for lives on and will continue so long as 
humanity dreams of freedom, dreams like those of the thousands of boat 
people who risked their lives to escape Vietnam, including the 65 boat 
people President Reagan spoke of in 1982 who had the good fortune of 
being spotted by the aircraft carrier USS Midway. When they were picked 
up, they cried ``Hello, American sailor. Hello, freedom man.''
  Since the last helicopter left the U.S. Embassy roof in Saigon 40 
years ago, Vietnam has been under Communist control. And with Communist 
control

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has come a shameful human rights record. What was a hot spot in the 
cold war is now a cold spot for people aspiring to walk, to borrow a 
phrase from Hubert Humphrey, in ``the warm sunshine of human rights.''
  Vietnam's postwar history began with a purge that resulted in the 
deaths of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of refugees escaped. Many 
died in the process, but many survived. Some made it to America, where 
they pursued the American Dream. They have undertaken diverse 
endeavors, from running small shops in Orange County, California, to 
fishing operations in Louisiana, to practicing medicine in places like 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  For those who are still living under the Communist regime, they must 
be ever-fearful of a government all too willing to crush freedom. 
Political freedom. Religious freedom. Freedom of the press. Freedom in 
family life.
  In Vietnam, Catholics, Buddhists, Falun Gong, and other religious 
minorities have been harassed, imprisoned, and persecuted for their 
faith. In Vietnam, hundreds of political prisoners are held in jail or 
under house arrest. The Vietnamese Government continues to restrain the 
press, and they have engaged in coercive population control practices.
  Never forget: our servicemembers fought, and many died, to prevent 
the tragedies Communist rule would impose upon the Vietnamese, Laotian, 
and Cambodian people, the latter of whom suffered an outright genocide 
that killed millions.
  We are grateful that our servicemembers were able to save thousands 
of Vietnamese.
  To the Vietnam veterans who undertook Operation Frequent Wind 40 
years ago this weekend in the chaotic days before Saigon fell, be proud 
you rescued 7,000 Americans and South Vietnamese. God alone knows the 
ripples in history that their having escaped will cause.
  As we look to the future, let us have a final accounting for all our 
MIAs. Let us insist that if Vietnam desires to integrate further with 
the community of nations, then it must allow much greater freedom for 
its people. And let us hope that the people of Vietnam will not have to 
endure another four decades of repression and that one day, perhaps 
this decade, the freedom for which our servicemembers died will finally 
take root by the South China Sea.

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