WHEREAS,  the Vietnam War was fought in the Republic of South Vietnam from 1961 to 1975 and the United States Armed Forces became involved in Vietnam to provide direct military support for the Republic of South Vietnam to defend itself against the growing communist threat from North Vietnam; and

WHEREAS,  according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 8,744,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam War and 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam between January 1, 1965 and March 28, 1973; and

WHEREAS,  on March 29, 1973, the United States Armed Forces completed the withdrawal of combat units and combat support units from South Vietnam; and

WHEREAS,  the State of Maine has 343 names etched on the black granite wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the Nation's capital, and 11 of our soldiers are still missing in Southeast Asia; and

WHEREAS,  March 30th of each year is Vietnam War Remembrance Day in Maine, in honor of the service and sacrifice of those veterans of the United States Armed Forces who served during the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS,  as with veterans returning from today's battlefields, those who served in Vietnam came home with both physical and unseen injuries of war, and many of those unseen injuries went undiagnosed and were not as well initially understood by the medical community and citizenry as they are now; and

WHEREAS,  we must continue to honor the millions of men and women who served with valor during the Vietnam War, including those who suffered unseen injuries; and

WHEREAS,  Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Day specifically honors the 7,200,000 living Vietnam War veterans and the 9,000,000 family members of those veterans; now, therefore, be it