AB 1289, as introduced, Cooley. State government: California Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Existing law establishes the state flag and the state’s emblems, including, among other things, the poppy as the official state flower and the California redwood as the official state tree.
This bill would establish the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial as the official state Vietnam veterans war memorial.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California has the largest United States veteran population
4in the nation, comprised of approximately two million armed
5services veterans, which is 12.3 percent of the nationwide veteran
6population of nearly 25 million veterans, who represent
7approximately one-fifth of California’s total population.
P2 1(b) More than 350,000 California veterans served in Vietnam,
2resulting in 5,822 killed or missing in action, which comprised
3more than 10 percent of the nation’s total, and 40,000 wounded.
4(c) More California residents died in Vietnam than residents of
5
any other state and California veterans received more Medals of
6Honor, Bronze Stars, and Purple Hearts than veterans of any other
7state.
8(d) The history of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial
9began when Herman Woods, a double amputee who served in the
101st Air Cavalry Division, United States Army (1970), returned to
11California from the dedication of the National Vietnam Veterans
12Memorial in our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C., in 1982.
13(e) Assembly Member Richard Floyd subsequently held a rally
14on the steps of the State Capitol and over 800 people attended; he
15was convinced that construction of the California Vietnam Veterans
16Memorial was the will of California Vietnam veterans.
17(f) Assembly Member Richard Floyd introduced Assembly Bill
18650, which created the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
19Capitol
Park, and was signed into law by Governor Deukmejian
20in September 1983.
21(g) The newly formed Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission
22was comprised of nine veterans, eight of whom served in Vietnam,
23including Linda J. McClenahan, Chairperson, Leo K. Thorsness,
24Medal of Honor recipient and Vice Chairperson, and members
25Gregory C. Green, Treasurer, Abel A. Cota, Secretary, B.T. Collins,
26Don A. Drumheller, Jesse G. Ugalde, Senator Jim Ellis, Assembly
27Member Richard E. Floyd, member and author of Assembly Bill
28650, and Jerri L. Dale, Executive Officer, which led to the creation
29of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
30(h) The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located in the
31northeast section of the Capitol Park grounds of the State Capitol
32and is a standing tribute to the 5,822 servicemen and servicewomen
33killed and missing in action.
34(i) The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated
35on December 10, 1988, in Capitol Park; there were thousands in
36attendance at the dedication ceremonies where Brigadier General
37George B. Price was the keynote speaker at the dedication; and
38the dedication events were spread out over a two-day period,
39commencing with “Buddy Search” registrations, unit reunions,
P3 1open houses, and concluding with the dedication ceremony in
2Capitol Park.
3(j) The theme of the memorial reflects the overwhelming
4majority of those who were killed in Vietnam, including
519-year-old infantry soldiers, their youth, camaraderie, the fatigue
6of the war, and the American women who served, with the winning
7entry in the opening design competition awarded to Michael
8Larson, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, and Thomas Chytrowski.
9(k) B.T. Collins and
Stan Atkinson, who had traveled to Vietnam
10together after the war, undertook the mission of raising the
11necessary funds to complete the memorial.
Section 429.9 is added to the Government Code, to
13read:
The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the
15official state Vietnam veterans war memorial.
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