[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 134 (Saturday, August 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5520-S5521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CAPTAIN PAUL W. `BUD' BUCHA VA MEDICAL CENTER ACT OF 2025
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2682, which is at the
desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2682) to designate the medical center of the
Department of Veterans Affairs
[[Page S5521]]
in West Haven, Connecticut, as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud'
Bucha VA Medical Center''.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a
third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered
made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 2682) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed as follows:
S. 2682
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. Ten 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 ``four 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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