Vermont HCR 276: House concurrent resolution in memory of Peter Saltonstall Mallett of Georgia

Bill Text

R-334 Page 1 of 1
2026

VT LEG #389335 v.1
No. R-334. House concurrent resolution honoring the brave Vermont Vietnam War
veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and recognizing the important initiative
of the Orange Heart Medal Foundation, Inc. to honor their military service.
(H.C.R.276)
Offered by Representatives Winter of Ludlow and Morgan, M. of Milton
Whereas, from 1961 to 1971, the United States military sprayed at least 11 million
gallons of the defoliant and herbicide Agent Orange across much of Vietnam and parts of
Laos and Cambodia, and
Whereas, the spraying of Agent Orange was part of Operation Ranch Hand, which was
intended to defoliate areas that enemy forces used as cover and to destroy their
subsistence crops, and
Whereas, troops who were exposed to Agent Orange have developed Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, prostate cancer, respiratory cancer, and other potentially
fatal conditions, and, according to the Cleveland Clinic, more than 300,000 Vietnam War
veterans, including Vermonters, have died from their exposure to Agent Orange, and
Whereas, the federal Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Pub. L. No. 102–4) established a
broad presumption in favor of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care coverage for Vietnam
War veterans who were exposed to the chemical and subsequently incurred associated
illnesses, but it did not provide any recognition of these veterans, whose life-threatening
injuries do not qualify them as Purple Heart or Medal of Honor recipients, and
Whereas, Ken Gamble, a Tennessee-based U.S. Navy Vietnam War veteran who was
exposed to Agent Orange and later diagnosed with cancer, and who listened to his VA
hospital roommate relate his own Agent Orange experience, persuaded the Tennessee
General Assembly, with unanimous votes, to establish the nonprofit Orange Heart Medal
Foundation, Inc. (the Foundation), and, with an initial $25,000 grant, the Foundation
developed the Orange Heart Medal, 6,000 of which were initially distributed, and 10,000
of which have been awarded to qualifying Vietnam War veterans, and
Whereas, today, in addition to distributing medals, the Orange Heart Foundation has
constructed the Orange Heart Memorial in Springfield, Tennessee, to honor these special
Vietnam War veterans, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly honors the brave Vermont Vietnam War veterans who
were exposed to Agent Orange and recognizes the important initiative of the Orange
Heart Medal Foundation, Inc. to honor their military service, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the Orange Heart Medal Foundation, Inc. and to Katie Kleczkowski.