Senate unanimously passes Sullivan resolution recognizing sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans

Senator Dan Sullivan, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC), welcomed the passage of his Senate resolution acknowledging the courage and sacrifice of veterans of the Vietnam War. The resolution also offered a long-overdue apology for the mistreatment many Vietnam veterans endured upon their return to the United States.

“58,000 members of the Armed Forces lost their lives in the Vietnam War. More than 300,000 Americans were wounded,” Senator Sullivan said. “Yet many who served the United States bravely and faithfully were repeatedly targeted with shameful attacks when they came home. That never happened in our history before, and it should never happen again. This resolution lays out the heroic service of our Vietnam veterans and acknowledges their sacrifice and courage—it’s time they received their hero’s welcome.”

The Senator said in remarks before the vote on July 30, 2024, he hoped for unanimous support for the legislation, something he felt most would agree upon enacting.

“It is a resolution that I guarantee most Americans are going to be like: What? Wait. What? We haven’t done that yet? The Senate, the Congress, hasn’t done that yet?”

He said that he heard there would be an objection made to the bill, which he found incredulous, but was relieved that there be no such objection. He went on to explain that in American history, the country has rightfully respected and honored America’s veterans, from the World War II generation-dubbed ‘the greatest generation’-that defended freedom all around the world and received welcome home parades and such, to the Korean conflict, which is referred to as , the ‘‘forgotten war,’’ indicative of what he called “this benign neglect.”

“The veterans came home. People didn’t really celebrate what they did. It wasn’t really like World War II. It was just kind of, OK, get on with your life; you did your duty.” He then reflected on the welcome many Vietnam vets received upon setting foot back in the country after completing a tour of duty or succumbing to injuries.

“Then the Vietnam war happened, and we all know what happened, but to this day, I think most Americans maybe don’t even understand what happened, but there is no doubt our country went off-kilter, and the respect given to our servicemembers—World War II was certainly at the high level, even the Korean war with its benign neglect—this respect hit rock bottom. It hit rock bottom.”

Senator Sullivan said that as a member of the USMC, and again as a senator, that he had heard stories of veterans coming home—whether drafter, enlisting, or coming in as officers—and doing their duty, but because the war was contentious and the country was not in full support of the conflict, many slandered, spit upon, and called the returning military men and women names.

“So what we can do here in the Senate is just say: Hey, we recognize your great service. It wasn’t easy. You were doing your duty. And if you were treated horribly—which a lot of them were when they came home…it shouldn’t have happened.”

Senator Sullivan said that despite the poor reception many Vietnam veterans received, they decided to ensure that future generations of veterans who serve overseas would not receive the same treatment, and instead worked to make sure their service and sacrifice were honored.

“Guess what. The Vietnam vets succeeded in that. The vast majority of Americans look at our veterans— whether they agreed with the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or anywhere else, when they see the vets, they say: Thank you for your heroic service. We may not have liked the war, but we are certainly not going to take it out on you, lieutenant or corporal.”

He pointed to examples of Vietnam veterans attending funerals and ceremonies, as well as establishing Veteran centers across the country.

Along with recognizing the extraordinary sacrifice of our Vietnam vets, commending them for their courage and sacrifice, and a formal acknowledgment by the President and on behalf of the Congress of widespread mistreatment of veterans, the Senator says the legislation also encourages and expresses support for increased education in the schools of the United States to reflect on and learn about the courage and sacrifice of this group of veterans.

“We do apologize for the mistreatment that you received, and we know that you are the key to making sure future generations of veterans are honored,” the Senator said, acknowledging the mistreatment of the Vietnam veterans before saying, on behalf of the Congress:

“So to our Vietnam vets, welcome home. Thank you.”