[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1190 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1190

   To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to retired 
  Colonel Philip J. Conran of the Air Force for acts of valor in Laos 
                        during the Vietnam War.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 2021

 Mr. Carbajal introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to retired 
  Colonel Philip J. Conran of the Air Force for acts of valor in Laos 
                        during the Vietnam War.

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

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR AWARD OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR TO RETIRED COLONEL 
              PHILIP J. CONRAN FOR ACTS OF VALOR IN LAOS DURING THE 
              VIETNAM WAR.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) While a Major in the United States Air Force, Philip J. 
        Conran demonstrated extraordinary heroism in military 
        operations against an opposing armed force as Aircraft 
        Commander of a CH-3E helicopter of the 21st Special Operations 
        Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing, Nakhon Phanom Royal 
        Thai Air Base, Thailand, in action in Laos on October 6, 1969.
            (2) The military referred to Laos as ``a classified 
        location in Southeast Asia'' until decades after the Vietnam 
        War ended when the role of the United States in Laos was 
        declassified.
            (3) While attempting to rescue the crew of a downed 
        helicopter, Major Conran's aircraft was hit by intense hostile 
        ground fire, yet despite the hostile ground fire, Major Conran 
        continued the rescue operation and landed in the vicinity of 
        the downed crewmen.
            (4) Once on the ground, he successfully evacuated his 
        aircraft and assumed a major role in defending the crash site 
        against an overwhelming hostile force until rescue was possible 
        six hours later.
            (5) Major Conran repeatedly exposed himself to heavy 
        barrages of enemy automatic weapons fire to extract essential 
        equipment from the downed helicopters.
            (6) In spite of receiving a severe leg wound while exposed 
        to enemy fire and trying to strengthen their position, Major 
        Conran continued to encourage the others and did not mention 
        his wound until he had lost all feeling in his leg.
            (7) Major Conran's decision to come to the aid of his 
        downed comrades, his heroic actions above and beyond the call 
        of duty while under severe hostile fire, and his positive 
        attitude throughout the ordeal were instrumental in enabling 
        the two helicopter crews and 44 friendly troops to withstand 
        superior odds until a rescue could be made.
    (b) Authorization.--Notwithstanding the time limitations specified 
in section 9274 of title 10, United States Code, or any other time 
limitation with respect to the awarding of certain medals to persons 
who served in the Armed Forces, the President is authorized to award 
the Medal of Honor under section 9271 of such title to retired Colonel 
Philip J. Conran Air Force for the acts of valor in Laos described in 
subsection (a).
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