[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6722 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6722

    To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based 
   outpatient clinic in French Camp, California, as the ``Richard A. 
                          Pittman VA Clinic''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2022

Mr. McNerney (for himself and Mr. Harder of California) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    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''.
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