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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Vietnam-era refugees, veterans to be recognized by bill
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
A bill passed by the Ohio General Assembly and awaiting signature by the governor would pay homage to those who fought for the freedom of Vietnam.
Once signed by Gov. Ted Strickland, April 29 of each year would be designated as “Heritage and Freedom Flag of the Former Republic of Vietnam Day.”
The designation is in honor of the heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, according to the legislation. The bill was previously introduced, but time elapsed before it could be passed by the state Senate.
The legislation, which eventually passed the state House with an 86-3 vote and was unanimously voted off the Senate floor, 33-0. in April, was reintroduced as House Bill 55 in early 2007 by state Rep. Jim McGregor, R-Gahanna.
“The bill, primarily for refugees and their families, to honor Americans of Vietnamese decent, also is for veterans, too,” McGregor’s spokeswoman Katie Eberhard said Wednesday in
a telephone interview. “It honors all who fought to bring freedom.”
Sponsor testimony described that while millions died, many also were able to escape the war-ravaged country.
“Many Vietnamese came here, to the shores of Lake Erie and the banks of the Ohio River,” Eberhard said describing the testimony.
She said those refugees want to teach their long and difficult odyssey to freedom through the new bill.
Ralph Reynolds, an active Wapakoneta veteran who served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam, said he does not know if veterans or refugees from certain countries or times should be singled out for recognition.
“This country is nothing but refugees, we have refugees from every country,” Reynolds said this week in a telephone interview.
He welcomed any one to the country, who came legally with good intentions, but in particular he hoped the South Vietnamese soldiers who fought alongside the U.S. would not be forgotten for the sacrifices they made as well as those civilians who left their home country.
“One of our missions is to not let it be forgotten,” Reynolds said. “I think every day ought to be Veterans Day for all veterans.”
He said how soldiers returning from Vietnam were treated then should not matter as much now as the pride they should feel themselves for what they did.
“It doesn’t matter what they did, where they served, what war they were in or in what era,” Reynolds said. “A veteran is a veteran.”
He said veterans should never demand respect, but he hopes society learns to recognize them on its own. He also noted refugees should be thankful for the opportunities they are given.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation honoring those who served in the defense of freedom in the Republic of South Vietnam with a national recognition day on May 7.
He said after a decade of disillusion and doubt, and no matter how long the wisdom and merits of U.S. policy during the Vietnam era might be debated, no one can withhold the homage soldiers of that time are due.
“Americans have never believed that freedom was the sole perogitive of a few, a grant of governmental power, or a title of wealth or nobility,” Reagan wrote in his proclamation. “We have always believed that freedom was the birthright of all peoples, and our Vietnam-era veterans pledged their lives — and almost 60,000 lost them — in pursuit of that ideal, not for themselves, but for a suffering people half a world away.”
Reagan asked that the day be used to recall sacrifices made by the veterans, that they know they are not forgotten and never will be.
The Brothers of Nam have continuously circled a petition asking that the day be honored every year as a long overdue way to show support for “neglected heroes … to give them the homecoming they deserved long ago.”
Iowa legislators this week passed a proclamation honoring the veterans of Vietnam who did not come home to heroes welcomes like soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan today. Veterans in attendance at the signing were given a standing ovation and Wednesday were remembered for their service.
Veterans of other wars also have been recognized with special days to mark their service throughout the years. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 )
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