HARRISBURG – The PA Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee approved a measure allowing Korean Americans who served in the Vietnam War with the Korean Armed Forces to receive the same state veterans benefits as their U.S. counterparts. Senate Bill 973 would grant the same rights, benefits, and privileges of U.S. military veterans to any PA resident who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and who served in the Vietnam War with the Korean Armed Forces. There are over 3,000 naturalized Korean American citizens who served in the Vietnam War as a part of the Korean Armed Forces. The bill would apply to any PA resident who is an American citizen, was an active-duty member of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces in the Vietnam War between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, and received an honorable discharge or equivalent. The legislation goes to the full PA Senate.
