Introduced Version
House Concurrent Resolution 17 History
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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 17
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Givens, Michael, Mahan,
Kominar, Tucker, Boggs, Willison, Flanigan, Manchin, Amores,
Linch, Frederick, Romine, Prunty, Pino, H. White, Williams,
Caputo, Ennis, Leggett, Calvert, Davis, Laird, Susman, Sparks,
Smirl, Fletcher, Dempsey, Leach, Louisos, Johnson, Compton,
Kelley, Rowe, Cann, Thompson, Stemple, Anderson, Dalton, Butcher,
Martin, J. Smith, Perdue and Stalnaker)
Requesting the Governor to designate the month of October of each
year as Agent Orange/Dioxin Awareness Month.
Whereas, In the history of our country, there have been times
of great trauma and disturbance in our society, the Vietnam War
being such a period; and
Whereas, Many veterans of this great state honored this country
by serving valiantly in the Vietnam War and these courageous
veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide the United
States used during the Vietnam War (1961-1975) to defoliate the
dense jungles and destroy crops, which is considered one of the
most toxic substances ever made, a herbicide that includes plant
hormones and the extremely dangerous chemical dioxin; and
Whereas, During the application of Agent Orange, code name
"Operation Ranch Hand," over 2.4 million Americans were exposed to
this toxic herbicide; and
Whereas, The continued adverse health effects of those
exposures have been demonstrated in a Veterans Administration
mortality study that shows correlations between Agent Orange/Dioxin
exposure and nonhodgkin's lymphoma, hodgkin's disease, prostate
cancer and lung cancer; and
Whereas, The West Virginia Veterans Coalition, on behalf of all
West Virginia's veterans, have formally urged the Governor of West
Virginia to designate the month of October as Agent Orange/Dioxin
Awareness Month; and
Whereas, In light of the aforementioned link between Agent
Orange/Dioxin and cancer in those exposed to it, and that October
has been designated nationally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it
logically follows that October should also be the month to raise
awareness of the effect of exposure to Agent/Orange/Dioxin;
therefore, be it
Resolved by Legislature of West Virginia:
That Governor Cecil H. Underwood is urged to consider the
request of the West Virginia Veterans Coalition to designate the
month of October as Agent Orange/Dioxin Awareness Month; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House is hereby
requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor and
to James N. Clayton, Chairman, West Virginia Veterans Coalition.