P1 1WHEREAS, April 30, 2015, marks the 40th anniversary of the
2fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, to communism; and
3WHEREAS, For many Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans who
4were directly involved in the war and Vietnamese Americans who
5have settled in the United States, the Vietnam War was a tragedy
6full of great suffering and the loss of American, Vietnamese, and
7Southeast Asian lives; and
8WHEREAS, Fifty-eight thousand one hundred sixty-nine people
9were killed and 304,000 were wounded out of the 2.59 million
10people who served in the Vietnam War. One out of every 10
11Americans who served in Vietnam became a casualty of war; and
12WHEREAS, After the fall of Saigon, over 135,000 Vietnamese
13people and their families fled to the United States, including former
14military personnel, government officials, and those who had
15worked for the United States during the war; and
16WHEREAS, Thousands of people took boats in order to leave
17Vietnam in the late 1970s to mid-1980s. The successful emigrants
18reached refugee camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the
19begin delete Philippinesend deletebegin insert Philippines,end insert and Hong Kong; while approximately
20one-half of the people fleeing Vietnam perished at sea; and
21WHEREAS, According to the United States Census for 2010,
22more than 465,000 Vietnamese live in California, with the largest
P2 1concentration of Vietnamese found outside of Vietnam residing
2in Orange County; and
3WHEREAS, Human rights, religious freedom, democracy, and
4protection against threats of aggression are important concerns of
5Vietnamese Americans; and
6WHEREAS, We must teach our children and future generations
7important lessons from the Vietnam War, including how the plight
8of the Vietnamese refugees following the end of war serves as a
9powerful example of the values of freedom and democracy; and
10WHEREAS, We, the people of California, should actively
11rededicate ourselves to the principles of human rights, individual
12freedom, sovereignty, and equal protection under the laws of a just
13and democratic world. Californians should set aside moments of
14time every year on April 30 to give remembrance to the soldiers,
15medical personnel, and civilians who died during the Vietnam War
16in pursuit of freedom; and
17WHEREAS, Vietnamese American communities throughout
18California will commemorate April 30, 2015, as Black April, a
19day of remembrance and rededication to the principles of freedom,
20including freedom of expression, freedom of press, and Internet
21freedom; now, therefore, be it
22Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That in
23recognition of the great tragedy and suffering and lives lost during
24the Vietnam War, the week of April 23, 2015, to April 30, 2015,
25inclusive, shall be proclaimed Black April Memorial Week, a
26special time for Californians to remember the countless lives lost
27during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for more justice and
28liberty for the people of Vietnam; and be it further
29Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
30of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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