GULF WAR VETERANS APPRECIATION AND REMEMBRANCE DAY 2001
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
http://ncchem.com/aware/gwv.htm

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, between August 2, 1990, and February 28, 1991, American military forces were deployed to Southwest Asia and adjoining regions in defense of Americas vital interests and those of its allies; and

WHEREAS, some 697,500 Americans served in the Kuwait Theatre of Operations during this period, and that nearly 100,000 were deployed from communities and military bases located throughout North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, in the years since Operation Desert Storm, the economic and personal losses suffered by nearly 300,000 of these young Americans can only be imagined, with lives interrupted and inexorably altered by maladies collectively known as Gulf War Illnesses; and

WHEREAS, upon returning from the Persian Gulf, many of these young Americans have been unable to resume normal lives because of Gulf War Illnesses; and

WHEREAS, the veterans of the Persian Gulf War have earned and do deserve our esteem and gratitude and our acknowledgement that without their sacrifices our lives would not be as they are today;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL F. EASLEY, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim February 28, 2001, as "GULF WAR VETERANS APPRECIATION AND REMEMBRANCE DAY" in North Carolina, and urge all citizens to commend its observance.

MICHAEL F. EASLEY