Amended in Assembly May 15, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1289

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Chesbro, Gray, Hall, Hagman, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Medina, Nestande, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Salas, Torres, and Waldron)

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February 22, 2013

An act to add Section 429.9 to the Government Code, relating to state government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1289, as amended, 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:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California has the largest United States veteran population
in the nation, comprised of approximately begin delete two end delete begin insert one end insert million begin insert eight
hundred thousand end insert armed services veterans, which is begin delete 12.3 end delete begin insert 8.3 end insert
percent of the nationwide veteran population of begin delete nearly 25 end delete
begin insert approximately 22 end insert million begin delete veterans, who represent approximately
one-fifth of California’s total population end delete begin insert veterans end insert .

(b) More than 350,000 California veterans served in Vietnam,
resulting in 5,822 killed or missing in action, which comprised
more than 10 percent of the nation’s total, and 40,000 wounded.

(c) More California residents died in Vietnam than residents of
any other state and California veterans received more Medals of
Honor, Bronze Stars, and Purple Hearts than veterans of any other
state.

(d) The history of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial
began when Herman Woods, a double amputee who served in the
1st Air Cavalry Division, United States Army (1970), returned to
California from the dedication of the National Vietnam Veterans
Memorial in our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C., in 1982.

(e) Assembly Member Richard Floyd subsequently held a rally
on the steps of the State Capitol and over 800 people attended; he
was convinced that construction of the California Vietnam Veterans
Memorial was the will of California Vietnam veterans.

(f) Assembly Member Richard Floyd introduced Assembly Bill
650, which created the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Capitol Park, and was signed into law by Governor Deukmejian
in September 1983.

(g) The newly formed Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission
was comprised of nine veterans, eight of whom served in Vietnam,
including Linda J. McClenahan, Chairperson, Leo K. Thorsness,
Medal of Honor recipient and Vice Chairperson, and members
Gregory C. Green, Treasurer, Abel A. Cota, Secretary, B.T. Collins,
Don A. Drumheller, Jesse G. Ugalde, Senator Jim Ellis, Assembly
Member Richard E. Floyd, member and author of Assembly Bill
650, and Jerri L. Dale, Executive Officer, which led to the creation
of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

(h) The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located in the
northeast section of the Capitol Park grounds of the State Capitol
and is a standing tribute to the 5,822 servicemen and servicewomen
killed and missing in action.

(i) The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated
on December 10, 1988, in Capitol Park; there were thousands in
attendance at the dedication ceremonies where Brigadier General
George B. Price was the keynote speaker at the dedication; and
the dedication events were spread out over a two-day period,
commencing with “Buddy Search” registrations, unit reunions,
open houses, and concluding with the dedication ceremony in
Capitol Park.

(j) The theme of the memorial reflects the overwhelming
majority of those who were killed in Vietnam, including
19-year-old infantry soldiers, their youth, camaraderie, the fatigue
of the war, and the American women who served, with the winning
entry in the opening design competition awarded to Michael
Larson, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, and Thomas Chytrowski.

(k) B.T. Collins and Stan Atkinson, who had traveled to Vietnam
together after the war, undertook the mission of raising the
necessary funds to complete the memorial.

SEC. 2.  

Section 429.9 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

429.9.  

The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the
official state Vietnam veterans war memorial.