House Resoluiton 695 ("Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War"). Introduced April 20, 2016, by Barbara Lee (Democrat), Representative for California's 13th congressional district. Referred to a congressional committee on April 20, 2016, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.
TEXT:
Whereas the Vietnam War began on 1964 and ended in 1975;
Whereas more than 58,000 United States citizens were killed, approximately 10,786 were wounded, and 75,000 veterans left seriously disabled;
Whereas it is estimated that more than 1,500,000 people from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia died as a result of the War, and many more were wounded or displaced;
Whereas thousands of people continue to suffer from the lethal effects of exposure to Agent Orange and unexploded ordnance;
Whereas the movement to end the Vietnam War was one of the largest and most prolonged efforts to achieve peace and justice in recent generations and was critical to bringing an end to the War;
Whereas the movement to end the Vietnam War was broad and included students, professors, workers, draft resisters, United States service members and veterans, musicians and artists, candidates for Congress and the presidency, and mobilized a majority in opposition to the Vietnam war
Whereas the movement generated the largest protests, moratorium actions, and mobilizations in United States history, including a strike of 4,000,000 students from across the Nation following the United States invasion of Cambodia in 1970, multiple acts of protest and resistance on military bases and ships around the world, and the rise of Vietnam Veterans Against the War;
Whereas United States expenditures on the Vietnam War impacted domestic resources, including for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty;
Whereas the 1970 blue-ribbon Scranton Report on campus unrest in the United States recognized the growing opposition to the Vietnam War by stating that, ‘‘The crisis on American campuses has no parallel in the history of this nation. This crisis has roots in divisions of American society as deep as any since the Civil War. If this trend continues, if this crisis of understanding endures, the very survival of the nation will be threatened’’;
Whereas Vietnam peace memorials have been erected [1] at Kent State University in Ohio, [2] the steps of Sproul Hall at the University of California, and the peace memorial [3] adjacent to the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California;
And Whereas peace and reconciliation research programs were widely incorporated in high school and university classrooms after the Vietnam War era: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) Commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War;
(2) Recognizes that the movement to end the Vietnam War was one of the largest and most prolonged efforts to achieve peace and justice in recent generations and was critical to bringing an end to the War;
(3) Acknowledges the role of those who participated in public protests, teach-ins, and opposition to the War, and the many people who supported political candidates of both parties who sought to end the War;
(4) Applauds the establishment of educational programs at colleges and universities across the United States that are focused on conflict transformation and peace building; and
(5) Urges continued efforts during this 50th anniversary period to reflect on the lessons learned from the Vietnam War and to recommit to sustained diplomacy that prevents conflict.
" [1] at Kent State University in Ohio"
|   1990 - May 4 Memorial, Daffodil Hill, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio (USA). Memorializes the 11 unarmed victims (4 dead & 9 injured) of the shootings by National Guard troops on May 4, 1970, during the Viet-Nam War. "Some of the students who were shot had been protesting the Cambodian Campaign, which President Richard Nixon announced during a television address on April 30. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance."
|  | Memorial to Jeffrey Miller, taken from approximately the same perspective as John Filo's famous 1970 photograph as it appears today. The photo is superimposed. |
"[2] the steps of Sproul Hall at the University of California"
  
|  1989 - Invisible Monument to Free Speech, Sproul Plaza, University of California Berkeley (UCD), Berkeley, California (USA). "A small space completely free from laws or jurisdiction. The six inch circle of soil, and the 'free' column of airspace above it, is framed by a six foot granite circle. The inscription on the granite reads: 'This soil and the air space extending above it shall not be a part of any nation and shall not be subject to any entity’s jurisdiction.' Winning design by Mark Brest van Kempen (a graduate student at the San Francisco Art Institute) after a national public art competition commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement [led by Mario Savio (1942-1996)], which began on the UCB campus in 1964." /// Sproul Plaza is bordered by steps in front of Sproul Hall. "A small round brass marker, embedded in the concrete [right image], declares them as the 'Mario Savio Steps.'"
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"[3] adjacent to the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California"
| 1991 - "Chain Reaction," Santa Monica Civic Center, Santa Monica, California (USA). Directly across the street from Rand Corporation headquarters (large curved building in right image - with monument in foreground). A 26-foot mushroom cloud made from links of a massive chain. Text of plaque: "This is a statement of peace. May it never become an epitaph. Paul Conrad 1991." Designed by Paul Conrad [1924-2010], chief editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times 1964-1993 (& syndicated to 100's of newspapers worldwide). See video. "Gifted to the
City of Santa Monica through a $250,000 anonymous donation..." Said to be structurally weak in 2011. "Save Our Sculpture" (SOS) campaign organized by Jerry Peace Activist Rubin.
Officially declared a City Landmark by unanimous vote of the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission on July 9, 2012.
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not named in Lee's resolution
 |  May 22, 1971 -
Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, off US s Highway 64, Angel Fire, Colfax County, New Mexico (USA).
"In the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway of northeastern New Mexico. The first major Vietnam memorial in the USA. Currently the only state park dedicated exclusively to veterans of the Vietnam War."
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not named in Lee's resolution
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  November 13, 1982 - Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Constitution Gardens, National Mall, Washington, DC (USA). Originally named 58,159 members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for. In 2007, ranked tenth on the "List of America's Favorite Architecture" by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Aligned with Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument (middle image). Right image shows proposed education center.
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not named in Lee's resolution
|  1987 -
"Grant us peace" (Vietnam Veterans Monument),
375 North Shore Drive (Northshore Trail),
Northshore, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA). By George Danhires Ron Bennett.
"'Grant us peace' is the translation of the Vietnamese words inscribed on this monument... Reminds us of the emotional trauma our veterans suffered in this war. Those who returned home did so wounded – inside, outside, or both. This monument seems to call out to them with healing thoughts."
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not named in Lee's resolution
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November 11, 1993 - Vietnam Women's Memorial, National Mall, Washington, DC (USA). Part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "Dedicated to US women who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses. Depicts 3 uniformed women. The woman looking up is named Hope, the woman praying is named Faith, & the woman tending to a wounded soldier is named Charity. Designed by Glenna Goodacre. There is a scale model of the statue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park in Angel Fire, New Mexico."
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not named in Lee's resolution
 |  September 11, 2002 - Patriots Peace Memorial, River Road east of Zorn Avenue (next to Thurman-Hutchins Park), Louisville, Kentucky (USA). "Honors fallen patriots from all the military services... The emphasis has been to find & honor veterans with local ties, who have died in service after the Vietnam War..."
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not named in Lee's resolution
|  Date? - Historical Marker - Reform and Revolt," Univeristy of Wisconsin, Bascom Hill, behind the UW-Madison Arboretum, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, Wisconsin (USA).
Text: "Bascom Hill Historic District. REFORM AND REVOLT. University of Wisconsin students traditionally have been active in political and social causes, and that was never more apparent than during the turbulent 1960s. During that time, students frequently led rallies and demonstrations, many of which protested U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Those activities succeeded in mobilizing thousands for and against the war. The tensions and divisions on campus eventually devolved into violence, culminating with the bombing of Sterling Hall, which housed the Army Math Research Center. On August 24, 1970, the explosion killed a Physics researcher, putting a tragic conclusion on a period of protest." /// Sterling Hall marker shown at far right.
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not named in Lee's resolution
| June 10, 2003 - Isla Vista Peace Monument, Perfect Park, Isla Vista, California (USA). Near University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). At site of numerous anti-Vietnam War concerts, rallies & peace events in the late 1960's and early 1970's, culminating in the historic sit-in of June 10, 1970 (right image).
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not named in Lee's resolution
| April 25, 2009 -
Vietnamese Boat People Monument, Westminster, Orange County, California (USA). Memorializes the tens of thousands who died in the high seas as they tried to escape communist Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. Built by Cam Ai Tran and Hap Tu Thai who escaped from Vietnam in 1979 by a boat which capcized, forcing them to swim ashore near Hai Nam Island in the South China Sea.
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