A cramped Senate hearing room was witness to an odd scene Wednesday: old men in makeshift military uniforms, representing a nation that ceased to exist nearly 30 years ago.

Girls in flowing Vietnamese ao dai dresses handed lawmakers yellow flags with three red stripes -- the flag of South Vietnam, which fell to North Vietnamese troops in 1975.

State lawmakers are considering a joint memorial -- a largely symbolic letter to Congress -- asking that the old flag be considered the official flag of the Vietnamese-American community in Washington state. Seven cities in Washington have passed similar measures.

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