Recognizing The Brave Men And Women Who Served In The Vietnam War And Honoring Their Service To The Nation

Floor Speech

Recognizing The Brave Men And Women Who Served In The Vietnam War And Honoring Their Service To The Nation

* Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the brave men and women who served in the Vietnam War. It has been 50 years since our first casualties. In 1959, Major Dale Richard Buis and Master Sergeant Chester M. Ovnand were ambushed and killed by Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese. By 1963, 100 advisors had lost their life in Vietnam. After President Kennedy's assassination, history would be left to President Johnson, who would lead Americans into one of the most tumultuous times in our history.

* In 1964, the reported Gulf of Tonkin incident resulted in a Congressional Resolution that allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to wage war without a formal declaration. By 1965, the conflict heightened and more Americans were subject to the draft. Casualties escalated from 17,000 to 35,000 a month. In January of 1968, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, though Americans were able to obtain a military victory and recapture most of the area. However, politically the tide of support was turning in the United States, and the draft continued as protests became louder. Richard Nixon was elected President and began covert bombing of Cambodia in 1969. By 1973 the last American troops left Vietnam.

* As our American military was sent to do battle in a civil war, they had no idea of the life altering experience that would change them and their country forever. Vietnam Veterans are the children of the greatest generation. And like their fathers and mothers they did their job for their country, engaging the enemy on land, in the air, and on water--many fighting to their death. In battle survival depended on each other. They became numb from the constant threat of the war, witnessing their friends injured or killed. Brave medics in the field and the doctors, nurses and corps men at hospitals worked tirelessly and risked their lives to save countless soldiers. There was little time to mourn those that died because no one knew what tomorrow would bring. How bravely they answered the call only to be scorned by many of their fellow countrymen and women when they returned home.

* Now fifty years later, we have a better understanding of the extraordinary sacrifice made by this generation of patriots. We question, how then could we as a nation fail to understand that the soldier follows the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. To disagree is our given right but to fail to support our troops who are sent to battle should never happen again. Over 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam; 14,095 were just 20 years of age and several of them were my college classmates. Those men and women had their dreams and names forever etched in stone as a reminder that their sacrifice was their life. Even those that survived did not return unscathed. Many returned home with physical and emotional pains of war to a country that had turned a deaf ear to their needs. Those Vietnam Veterans, like the generation before, came home to raise their families and continued to contribute to our country. Many have passed away, but all have left their imprint on their families and our nation.

* For those families still waiting for the return of their soldiers, it has been a long, mournful time. Recently John Adam was returned home after missing for 41 years. On May 22, 1968, twenty-year-old Air Force, Senior Master Sergeant John Adam disappeared while serving in Vietnam. His remains were located near Laos and identified through DNA. Now one family has closure; however, many of our veterans remain missing and the prayers continue.

* So, on September 12, 2009, fifty years after the first casualty in Vietnam I, as the United States Representative of Missouri's 5th District, will host a Town Hall event at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, to honor the men and women who courageously served in that war--to finally give them the respect and honor they deserve as heroes of our country. Madam Speaker, please join me in thanking and appreciating the sacrifices of a great generation of American Patriots, our Vietnam Veterans.

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