Georgia House Passes Bill To Recognize South Korean Soldiers Who Served During Vietnam
Members of the Georgia chapter of the Korean-American Vietnam Veterans Association take a photo with Rep. Bill Hitchens at the state Capitol.
Emil Moffatt / WABE
Half a million soldiers from South Korea fought alongside American forces during the Vietnam War.
Some of those soldiers later moved to Georgia and became American citizens. But they haven’t always received the same recognition as members of the U.S. military.
A bill approved Tuesday by the Georgia House is meant to change that.
Rep. Bill Hitchens is one of only two Vietnam veterans left in the Georgia General Assembly.
“Today I’m honored to rise for House Bill 819,” Hitchens said as he began presenting the bill on the House floor Tuesday morning.
The bill allows anyone who served in the military of an American ally during a time of war – and later became a naturalized citizen – to qualify for a Georgia license plate, adorned with the word “Veteran.” It’s a gesture, Hitchens said, that would give these soldiers the “honor and respect they so rightly deserve.”
His words were echoed by Rep. Al Williams, a fellow Vietnam veteran.
“Some of the hardest-fighting and most-disciplined soldiers in Vietnam were the soldiers of the South Korean army,” Williams said.
Some of those soldiers, including Alexander Song, watched the vote from above in the House gallery. They’re members of the Georgia chapter of the Korean-American Vietnam Veterans Association.
“You know honor, that’s all they care [about], and they are very grateful for that,” Song said. “Because they’re American and they fight for … side-by-side and they want to be recognized for that. That’s all they want.”
The bill passed the House — with 162 votes for and none against it.
It now moves to the Senate.
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