[117th Congress Public Law 236]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 136 STAT. 2324]]

Public Law 117-236
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
  Memphis, Tennessee, as the ``Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical 
            Center''. <<NOTE: Dec. 20, 2022 -  [H.R. 6863]>> 

    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) Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., was born December 16, 1922, 
        in Grenada, Mississippi, then moved to Memphis, Tennessee, at 
        age five.
            (2) Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., graduated from Booker T. 
        Washington High School and is an alumnus of Xavier University in 
        New Orleans.
            (3) Upon his graduation, Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., enlisted 
        in one of the first training programs for Black pilots, 
        beginning his journey as a Tuskegee Airman.
            (4) Within his first few years active in the war, Luke 
        Joseph Weathers, Jr., named his plane ``Spirit of Beale 
        Street'', in honor of his hometown, Memphis, Tennessee. He flew 
        this plane with the ``Red Tails''.
            (5) He was credited with shooting down German planes while 
        protecting United States Army Air Corps bombers and shooting 
        down two Messerschmitt 109s in Italy while escorting a damaged 
        B-24 Liberator bomber.
            (6) During his military service, he rose to the rank of 
        Lieutenant Colonel.
            (7) Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., received numerous honors and 
        awards throughout his long and distinguished career.
            (8) Among them, he was presented with an Air Medal with 7 
        clusters and an American Theater Ribbon Victory Medal during his 
        military service.
            (9) Following the war, Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., returned 
        to Memphis, receiving a hero's welcome and a key to the city.
            (10) On July 13, 1947, he married LaVerne Nailling at St. 
        Therese-Little Flowers Catholic Church in Memphis.
            (11) In 1960, he accepted a job with the Federal Aviation 
        Administration (hereinafter, the ``FAA'') as an air traffic 
        control specialist in Anchorage, Alaska.
            (12) In 1965, Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., moved back to 
        Memphis, becoming the first Black air traffic controller in 
        Memphis.
            (13) Weathers later held positions with the FAA in Atlanta, 
        Georgia, and the District of Columbia, where he eventually

[[Page 136 STAT. 2325]]

        retired in 1985, after serving as a reservist in the military 
        for 23 years.
            (14) During retirement, Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., remained 
        active with the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and continued to support 
        African Americans in the military.
            (15) In 1995, Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., moved to Tucson, 
        Arizona, shortly after marrying Jacqueline Moore Weathers.
            (16) In 2007, Luke Joseph Weathers, Jr., and the Tuskegee 
        Airmen were honored with a Congressional Gold Medal.
            (17) On October 15, 2011, Luke Joseph Weather, Jr., died in 
        Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 90, leaving behind his wife, two 
        sons and daughters, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren 
        as well as a legacy of countless lives he touched.
            (18) On January 20, 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Luke Joseph 
        Weathers, Jr., was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF THE LT. COL. LUKE WEATHERS, JR. VA MEDICAL 
                    CENTER.

    The medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in 
Memphis, Tennessee, shall, after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
be known and designated as the ``Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical 
Center''. Any reference in any law, regulation, map, document, paper, or 
other record of the United States to such medical center shall be 
considered to be a reference to the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA 
Medical Center.

    Approved December 20, 2022.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 6863:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 168 (2022):
            Nov. 14, considered and passed House.
            Dec. 6, considered and passed Senate.

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