RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial bears the names of more than 58,000 Americans lost during the Vietnam War. The Memorial honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country, and stands as a place of reflection and healing for the nation; and
WHEREAS, 74 American sailors tragically lost their lives when their ship, the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans, was cut in half in by an Australian aircraft carrier on June 3, 1969 while participating in a joint military exercise in the South China Sea; and
WHEREAS, Among those lost were Chicagoans Jerome Pickett and Gerald Wayne Smith;
and
WHEREAS, Despite operating in Vietnamese waters immediately before the collision, and being scheduled to return to activities supporting the war effort after the exercise, the USS Frank E. Evans sank outside the geographical limit for the combat zone, and the crew was thus determined ineligible for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; and
WHEREAS, Because an arbitrary line should not preclude those who deserve the honor of a place on the Memorial, exceptions have been previously granted to inscribe the names of other service members lost outside the designated combat zone; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 4435 as a companion bill to the Armed Services Appropriation Bill, which includes a provision urging the Secretary of Defense to add the names of the 74 sailors lost from the USS Frank E. Evans to the Vietnam Memorial; and
WHEREAS, The bill is currently pending in the United States Senate; and
WHEREAS, After a decades-long struggle by the families of the 74 men to have their loved ones added to the Memorial, passage of H.R. 4435 will facilitate the long-overdue recognition of the sacrifice those 74 men made for their country; and
WHEREAS, The names of the "Lost 74" are:
Ensign Alan Herbert Armstrong;
Seaman James Robert Baker;
Yeoman Third Class Andrew James Botto;
Radarman Third Class Thomas Belue Box;
Electroni...
Click here for full text