[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2682 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2682
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs
in West Haven, Connecticut, as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha VA
Medical Center''.
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.
Passed the Senate August 2, 2025.
Attest:
Secretary.
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2682
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs
in West Haven, Connecticut, as the ``Captain Paul W. `Bud' Bucha VA
Medical Center''.