BILL REQ. #:  S-3984.3 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     TO THE HONORABLE PAULA HAMMOND, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, AND TO THE WASHINGTON STATE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, AND TO THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, The United States of America became involved in Vietnam in April 1956 when the United States military advisory group took over training of South Vietnam forces; and
     WHEREAS, On June 8, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of United States troops in direct combat; and
     WHEREAS, Two million fifty thousand men and women of our armed forces met the test, fighting in harsh terrain and extreme weather in battles and actions, the names of which reverberate thirty-four years later; and
     WHEREAS, One thousand one hundred thirty-four Washington State residents and nine Clallam County residents were killed in action between 1965 and 1975, and over forty-four known men had been missing in action or held as prisoners of war; and
     WHEREAS, Fifty-eight thousand one hundred eighty-three men of the United States armed forces lost their lives from 1957 to 1975; and
     WHEREAS, It is appropriate to honor the service and sacrifice of Washington State Vietnam War veterans who served the nation with such valor and distinction;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Washington State Transportation Commission commence proceedings to name Highway 112 in Clallam County between the junction of Highway 101 and the junction of Highway 113 the "Vietnam War Veterans' Memorial Highway," and to install appropriate signs on the portion of the highway containing the words "Vietnam War Veterans' Memorial Highway" to honor the service and sacrifices of all who served in that war.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation, the Washington State Transportation Commission, and the Washington State Department of Transportation.