REPORT TITLE:
Korean War Commemoration


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds for the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the
Korean War Commission. (HB2354 HD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2354
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
   COMMEMORATION OF THE KOREAN WAR COMMISSION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Only five years had passed since the end of
 
 2 World War II when the United States found itself in a major
 
 3 international conflict.  In the early morning hours of June 25,
 
 4 1950, the communist government of North Korea launched an attack
 
 5 into South Korea.
 
 6      Determined to support the world's democracies, the United
 
 7 States immediately led a United Nations force into the Korean
 
 8 War.  What was envisioned as a short, decisive repelling of the
 
 9 enemy became a prolonged and frustrating fight that threatened to
 
10 explode beyond Korean borders.  The fighting lasted for three
 
11 years until an uneasy peace returned to the region with a
 
12 negotiated settlement that re-established the earlier boundary
 
13 between North and South Korea.
 
14      One-and-a-half million American men and women, a cross-
 
15 section of the nation's population, struggled side-by-side during
 
16 the conflict.  They served as soldiers, chaplains, nurses,
 
17 clerks, and in a host of other combat and support roles.  One
 
18 hundred thirty-one individuals were awarded the Medal of Honor,
 

 
Page 2                                                     2354
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 the nation's highest commendation for combat bravery.  Of the
 
 2 recipients, ninety-four had given their lives in heroic acts that
 
 3 earned them the honor.
 
 4      The governor, through Executive Order No. 99-07, honors the
 
 5 men and women who served in Korea for their struggles and
 
 6 sacrifices under trying circumstances in service to their country
 
 7 and the cause of freedom by establishing the fiftieth anniversary
 
 8 commemoration of the Korean War commission.  The purpose of the
 
 9 commission is to:
 
10      (1)  Gather information regarding the identity of Korean War
 
11           veterans and their families, especially those who lost
 
12           their loved ones during the war;
 
13      (2)  Recommend to the department of defense how Hawaii can
 
14           identify, thank, and honor Korean War veterans and
 
15           their families;
 
16      (3)  Recognize and remember the prisoners-of-war and
 
17           missing-in-action;
 
18      (4)  Recognize the many contributions of women and
 
19           minorities to the nation during the Korean War;
 
20      (5)  Provide the public with a clearer understanding and
 
21           appreciation of the lessons, history, and legacy of the
 
22           war, and the military's contribution in maintaining
 
23           world peace and freedom;
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (6)  Remember the forces engaged in preserving the peace,
 
 2           freedom, and prosperity of the Republic of Korea; and
 
 3      (7)  Strengthen the bonds of friendship and relationships
 
 4           throughout the world by focusing on the twenty-two
 
 5           countries that fought as allies.
 
 6      The fiftieth anniversary commemoration of the start of the
 
 7 Korean War is rapidly approaching.  The legislature believes that
 
 8 Korean War veterans and their families should be identified,
 
 9 thanked, and properly recognized and honored.
 
10      The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to the
 
11 fiftieth anniversary commemoration of the Korean War commission
 
12 to carry out its mission throughout the state.
 
13      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
14 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1 or so much thereof
 
15 as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 to carry out the
 
16 functions of the fiftieth anniversary commemoration of the Korean
 
17 War commission throughout the State.
 
18      The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of
 
19 defense for the purposes of this Act.
 
20      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.