|   | 
      
      
        |   | 
      
      
        | 
           		
			 | 
        
          R E S O L U T I O N
         | 
      
      
        | 
           		
			 | 
               WHEREAS, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 76 in San Antonio  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        is hosting a ceremony on March 28, 2015, in recognition of Vietnam  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        Veterans Day; and | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
               WHEREAS, One of the oldest posts in the Lone Star State, VFW  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        Post No. 76 annually marks this observance, which commemorates the  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Vietnam on  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        March 29, 1973; and | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
               WHEREAS, Members of the U.S. armed forces were initially sent  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        to South Vietnam in an advisory capacity in 1961; the first American  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        ground combat units arrived there in 1965, and by 1969  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        approximately 543,000 U.S. troops were serving in that country; by  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        the time the war ended in April 1975, more than three million  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        Americans had seen duty in Southeast Asia; and | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
               WHEREAS, The Vietnam War claimed the lives of more than  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        58,000 members of the U.S. armed forces, including over 3,400  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        Texans; more than 2,500 American servicemen were taken prisoner,  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        and an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 were counted as missing in action;  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        and | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
               WHEREAS, Americans owe a lasting debt of gratitude and  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        remembrance to the men and women who served this country in Vietnam,  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        and this event pays fitting tribute to those military personnel for  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        their brave and steadfast efforts and immeasurable sacrifice in one  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        of the most difficult wars in this nation's history; now,  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        therefore, be it | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
               RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        Legislature hereby commemorate the Vietnam Veterans Day  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        celebration at VFW Post No. 76 in San Antonio and extend to the  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        event's organizers and participants sincere best wishes for a  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        meaningful and memorable observance; and, be it further | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
               RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        prepared for VFW Post No. 76 as an expression of high regard by the  | 
      
      
        | 
           
			 | 
        Texas House of Representatives. |