Honoring Vietnam Veterans and North Dakota's Soldiers Who Lost Their Lives in Vietnam

Floor Speech

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Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, today I rise to speak about and honor
our Nation's Vietnam veterans, particularly North Dakota's Vietnam
veterans. Since I took office, I have made it a priority to travel
throughout North Dakota to meet with my State's veterans, so many
wonderful men and women who continue to serve not only their country
but also our State and their communities. All these veterans deserve a
place of honor in our society.

We are in the midst of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war. On
May 25, 2012, President Obama issued this proclamation calling on the
Nation to honor Vietnam veterans and to honor particularly those brave
service members who gave their lives in service to their country.

This special period of honoring our Vietnam veterans runs through
2025. Today I follow up on a commitment I made last year. I want to
focus on North Dakota's soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. In
this effort, I have partnered with students from Bismarck High School
in researching these soldiers. I want to thank their instructors, Lori
Forde, Sara Rinas, and Allison Wendel for coordinating this project and
sharing their students' research with my office. I think this is a
wonderful partnership to explain and to research a war that was long
forgotten for many of these young students.

Throughout this effort I want to make sure our Nation never forgets
the needs of our Vietnam veterans. I want to make sure our Nation
continues further to honor them. I have a poster that we have created
that will be placed in every one of our offices, both in Washington,
DC, and in my various State offices. I am hopeful we will be able to
distribute this poster throughout all of the veterans service
organizations in North Dakota as we continue this period of
remembrance.

In North Dakota, we take much pride in our history and devotion to
service. When our Nation, our State, and our community are called,
North Dakotans stand up--no matter what the cost. And 198 sons of North
Dakota did not make it home from the Vietnam war; 198 sons of North
Dakota gave their lives in service to the freedom of this country.
These sons, brothers, and fathers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, I want to honor them individually by talking about the lives
of these individuals--some of these individual members. I intend
throughout this Congress to come to the floor and remember each one of
them individually and remember each one of their sacrifices.

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