[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 126, 112th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8789--MAR. 29, 2012

Proclamation 8789 of March 29, 2012

Vietnam Veterans Day

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On January 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000
South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a
National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon. Operation Chopper
marked America's first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the
beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars. Through more
than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our Nation, the
service of our men and women in uniform stood true. Fifty years after
that fateful mission, we honor the more than 3 million Americans who
served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm
our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and
support of a grateful Nation.
The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds,
colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission. It
is a story of Americans from every corner of our Nation who left the
warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of
patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm's
way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to
preserve the liberties we hold dear. From Ia Drang to Hue, they won
every major battle of the war and upheld the highest traditions of our
Armed Forces.
Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation. Thousands
returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by
the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of
memories that would never fade. More than 58,000 laid down their lives
in service to our Nation. Now and forever, their names are etched into
two faces of black granite, a lasting memorial to those who bore
conflict's greatest cost.
Our veterans answered our country's call and served with honor, and on
March 29, 1973, the last of our troops left Vietnam. Yet, in one of the
war's most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to
be shunned or neglected--to face treatment unbefitting their courage and
a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen
again. Today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations: to
show all who have worn the uniform of the United States the respect and
dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as
well as they served us. Half a century after those helicopters swept off
the ground and into the annals of history, we pay tribute to the fallen,
the missing, the wounded, the millions who served, and the millions more
who awaited their return. Our Nation stands stronger for their service,
and on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor their proud legacy with our
deepest gratitude.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 29, 2012, as
Vietnam Veterans Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the
50-year anniversary of the Vietnam War.


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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of
March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
sixth.
BARACK OBAMA