Captain Paul W. Bud Bucha VA Medical Center Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4647 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4647

 To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs
  in West Haven, Connecticut, as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha VA
                           Medical Center''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2025

 Ms. DeLauro introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs
  in West Haven, Connecticut, as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha VA
                           Medical Center''.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha VA
Medical Center Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha was born on August 1, 1943, in
        Washington, DC.
            (2) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha, a recipient of the Medal of
        Honor and an advocate for veterans, is an American hero.
            (3) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha, the son of a colonel in the
        Army, spent his childhood in California, Germany, Indiana,
        Japan, and St. Louis, Missouri.
            (4) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha turned down several scholarships
        for both academics and athletics and instead enrolled in the
        United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He went
        on to be a two-time All-American and captain of the West Point
        swim team. In 1965, he graduated in the top 5 percent of his
        class and number two in Military Order of Merit.
            (5) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha earned a Masters of Business
        Administration from Stanford University in 1967, all while
        completing Airborne and Ranger training between academic years.
            (6) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha reported for duty with the 101st
        Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to prepare for
        deployment to Vietnam as part of Operation Eagle Thrust in
        November 1967.
            (7) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha was appointed commander of
        Company D, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. His company
        was the last rifle company to be formed during an Army
        expansion. He jokingly recalled that his recruits were men who
        had flunked basic infantry tasks, former prisoners, and ``guys
        with master's degrees in Elizabethan literature''. He took
        pride in his company, dubbed the ``clerks and jerks''. They
        went on to become one of the most decorated units by the end of
        the war.
            (8) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha distinguished himself with
        extraordinary heroism while leading 89 men on a reconnaissance
        mission near Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam, from March 16th through 18th,
        1968. As part of the Tet Offensive, his unit was dropped by
        helicopter and his men set out to repel attacks by North
        Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. As the sun set on March 18,
        1968, he and his men advanced into a dense jungle and found
        themselves outgunned by approximately 1,500 enemy troops. Under
        attack, he crawled 40 yards through the hail of fire and
        singlehandedly destroyed a machine-gun bunker with grenades,
        all while sustaining a shrapnel wound. He then orchestrated an
        overnight offensive, directing his men to spread out, throw
        grenades, and unleash heavy fire. He made the enemy believe
        they were a much larger force. His leadership led to the defeat
        of a superior Vietnamese stronghold, leaving 156 enemy dead.
        Come morning, he guided the medical evacuation of three air-
        ambulance loads of seriously wounded personnel.
            (9) President Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to
        Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha in a ceremony at the White House in 1970.
            (10) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha originally wanted to turn down
        the Medal of Honor because he did not feel deserving. In
        Vietnam, he asked his men to trust him and, in turn, promised
        to bring them home safe. 10 of his men were killed on the night
        of March 18, 1968. Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha ultimately accepted
        the Medal of Honor in their memory, saying it belongs to his
        men.
            (11) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha resigned his Army commission in
        1972.
            (12) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha was an active member of several
        veterans service organizations (commonly referred to as
        ``VSOs''), including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign
        Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and the Vietnam Veterans of
        America. He generously served on the board of directors of
        Homes for Our Troops, a VSO that builds specially adapted
        custom homes for severely injured veterans. He also served as
        Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment and
        Training Services at the Department of Labor.
            (13) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha used his voice for veterans
        struggling with mental health. He believed that all veterans,
        whether they have ``4 stars or no stripes, man or woman'',
        would be touched by post-traumatic stress. He used the term
        ``post-traumatic stress'' to acknowledge the impact of combat
        experiences on the mental health of veterans and he
        intentionally left out the word ``disorder'' to help
        destigmatize their struggle.
            (14) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha battled post-traumatic stress on
        his own for 42 years before courageously seeking help at the
        medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in West
        Haven, Connecticut. In the final years of his life, Paul W.
        ``Bud'' Bucha also received neurological care at that medical
        center. His family expressed deep gratitude for the
        compassionate and skilled care he received, especially
        recognizing the leadership of Dr. Huned Patwa, Chief of Staff,
        and Dr. Becky Rhoads, Executive Director. His family also
        commended the dedicated neurologists, psychiatrists, and
        oncologists who supported him as his health declined.
            (15) Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha spent the last two weeks of his
        life at the medical center of the Department in West Haven,
        Connecticut, and passed away from complications of Alzheimer's
        disease on July 31, 2024. In his final act of courage and
        service, he donated his brain to the Center for Human Brain
        Discovery at Yale University.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF CAPTAIN PAUL W. ``BUD'' BUCHA VA MEDICAL CENTER.

    (a) In General.--The medical center of the Department of Veterans
Affairs in West Haven, Connecticut, or any successor location for such
medical center, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be
known and designated as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center'' or the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha
VA Medical Center''.
    (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the medical
center referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a
reference to the Captain Paul W. ``Bud'' Bucha VA Medical Center.
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