Declaring November 8th as Vietnam Veterans Day and Honoring those who served our Country.

WHEREAS, The Vietnam Conflict began in August 1963 and ended in May 1975 and approximately eight million men and women served our country during this conflict with nearly three million serving "in country" over this twelve-year period; and

WHEREAS, Of those men and women that served, approximately 58,000 were killed or were declared missing in action; and

WHEREAS, Over 12,000 Philadelphians served in Vietnam and 645 were killed in action; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia is also home to both the public and parochial high schools which experienced the highest number of casualties of any such high school in the nation -- those being Thomas Edison High School with 64 fatalities, and Father Judge High School with 28; and

WHEREAS, On November 8th, WYBE Channel 35 will broadcast part one of a documentary series called "The Weight" which chronicles the lives of eleven Vietnam Veterans and news correspondent, Edward Bradley, who covered the war for CBS; and

WHEREAS, This series was written, produced and directed by Sid Holmes -- a resident of Philadelphia -- and features several well-known Philadelphians, including poet Lamont Steptoe, WIP General Manager Butch Forster, Veterans Against Drugs founder Rich Montgomery, crisis intervention worker Bennie Swans and army nurse Marsha Four; and

WHEREAS, It is important that we as a nation never forget the lessons learned from this conflict and honor those who sacrificed their lives serving our country during this time; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we declare November 8th as Vietnam Veterans Day and Honor those who served our Country.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service and Education Center as a symbol of this legislative body’s gratitude for this organization's continuing efforts to provide service to and advocate for the needs of our veterans.

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