[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6722 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.6722
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two
An Act
To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based
outpatient clinic in French Camp, California, as the ``Richard A.
Pittman VA Clinic''.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Richard A. Pittman was born on May 26, 1945, in French
Camp, California.
(2) Richard A. Pittman enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965 and
was later promoted to Lance Corporal.
(3) On July 24, 1966, Lance Corporal Pittman's unit, First
Platoon, Company I, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, was moving
along a trail near the Demilitarized Zone in the Republic of
Vietnam when the Marines ahead of them came under attack.
(4) Upon hearing the attack, Lance Corporal Pittman took a
machine gun and several belts of ammunition and rushed to aid his
comrades. As he advanced, Lance Corporal Pittman encountered
intense small-arms fire at point-blank range. He was able to return
fire and silence the enemy combatants. Continuing towards the
attacked Marines, Lance Corporal Pittman came under heavy fire from
two automatic weapons, which he was able to destroy.
(5) When Lance Corporal Pittman learned there were additional
wounded Marines further along the trail, he endured enemy mortar
and gunfire to get to them. As he reached them, he faced an attack
by 30 to 40 enemy fighters.
(6) Lance Corporal Pittman used a combination of machine-gun
fire, an enemy submachine gun, a pistol from a fallen comrade, and
a grenade to cause enemy forces to withdraw. Due to his courageous
actions, many of his wounded comrades were saved.
(7) In recognition of his bravery that day, Richard A. Pittman,
who was then a Sergeant, was awarded the Medal of Honor by
President Lyndon B. Johnson on May 14, 1968.
(8) Richard A. Pittman retired in 1988 as a Master Sergeant,
after having served in the Marine Corps for more than two decades.
SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMUNITY-BASED
OUTPATIENT CLINIC, FRENCH CAMP, CALIFORNIA.
(a) Designation.--The Department of Veterans Affairs community-
based outpatient clinic in French Camp, California, shall after the
date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the
``Richard A. Pittman VA Clinic''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document,
paper, or other record of the United States to the clinic referred to
in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Richard A.
Pittman VA Clinic''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.