Weekly Column: Honoring Idaho's Vietnam Veterans--A Part Of Us And A Part Of Our History

On Veterans Day in 1984, our 40^th President Ronald Reagan spoke at the dedication ceremonies for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Statue, the statue of three servicemen overlooking the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.  The memorial wall had opened just two years prior.  President Reagan said:

“Every day, the families and friends of those brave men and women come to the wall and search out a name and touch it.

The memorial reflects as a mirror reflects, so that when you find the name you're searching for you find it in your own reflection.  And as you touch it, from certain angles, you're touching, too, the reflection of the Washington Monument or the chair in which great Abe Lincoln sits.

Those who fought in Vietnam are part of us, part of our history.  They reflected the best in us.  No number of wreaths, no amount of music and memorializing will ever do them justice but it is good for us that we honor them and their sacrifice.  And it's good that we do it in the reflected glow of the enduring symbols of our Republic.”

In honor of Vietnam Veterans and their sacrifice, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution earlier this year acknowledging the courage and sacrifice of veterans of the Vietnam War and expressing regret for the mistreatment of veterans returning home from the war.  The resolution included the following recognitions: more than 58,000 members of the Armed Forces of the United States lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and more than 153,000 members of the Armed Forces of the United States were wounded in Vietnam; and members of the Armed Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam War were repeatedly targeted with shameful personal attacks for their service as the result of decisions that were beyond their control.

The Senate:

• Recognized the extraordinary sacrifice of veterans of the Vietnam War and commended them, and their families, for their unwavering and courageous sacrifice to the United States;

• Expressed urgent support for increased education in the schools of the United States to better reflect the courage and sacrifice of veterans of the Vietnam War and the lack of support back home;

• Urged the President to formally acknowledge the widespread mistreatment of many veterans of the Vietnam War as part of the ongoing Vietnam War Commemoration; and

• Expressed regret for the mistreatment of veterans and their families during and after the war.

According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, Idaho is home to more than 44,000 Vietnam Veterans.  In Freeman Park in my hometown of Idaho Falls, stands the Idaho State Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  The names of more than 200 Idahoans killed during the Vietnam War are etched on the memorial as a reminder of the cost born by the Idahoans who fought bravely for our country during that time.  Some who returned home understandably still carry the burden of tragically losing friends they fought beside.  Others returned with life-altering injuries.  Eight Idahoans have not yet returned and remain classified as prisoners of war (POWs) or missing in action (MIA).  I honor them all--who are very much a part of us and a part of our history--as I work steadily to ease the work to bring all our missing servicemembers home and cement sound policy that respects the service of veterans. 

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