,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #deh #aaith         
,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,h4 ,r4 #dfdg
  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the        
,,united ,,states  ,july #af1           
#bjbf,received2 read twice and placed on
 the calendar  ,,an ,,act  ,to designate
 the medical center of the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs in ,west ,haven1  
,connecticut1 as the ,captain ,paul ,w4 
,bud ,bucha ,,va ,medical ,center4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,captain ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha ,,va 
,medical ,center ,act of #bjbe4  #b4    
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha was born on 
,august #a1 #aidc1 in ,washington1 ,,dc4
  7#b7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha1 a         
recipient of the ,medal of ,honor and an
 advocate for veterans1 is an ,american 
hero4  7#c7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha1 the  
son of a colonel in the ,army1 spent his
 childhood in ,california1 ,germany1    
,indiana1 ,japan1 and ,st4 ,louis1      
,missouri4  7#d7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha  
turned down several scholarships for    

both academics and athletics and instead
 enrolled in the ,united ,states        
,military ,academy at ,west ,point1 ,new
 ,york4 ,he went on to be a two-time    
,all-,american and captain of the ,west 
,point swim team4 ,in #aife1 he         
graduated in the top #e percent of his  
class and number two in ,military ,order
 of ,merit4  7#e7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha 
earned a ,masters of ,business          
,administration from ,stanford          
,university in #aifg1 all while         
completing ,airborne and ,ranger        
training between academic years4  7#f7  
,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha reported for duty 
with the #ajast ,airborne ,division at  
,fort ,campbell1 ,kentucky1 to prepare  
for deployment to ,vietnam as part of   
,operation ,eagle ,thrust in ,november  
#aifg4  7#g7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha was  
appointed commander of ,company ,d1 #crd
 ,battalion1 #ahgth ,infantry ,regiment4
 ,his company was the last rifle company
 to be formed during an ,army expansion4
 ,he jokingly recalled that his recruits

 were men who had flunked basic infantry
 tasks1 former prisoners1 and guys with 
master's degrees in ,elizabethan        
literature4 ,he took pride in his       
company1 dubbed the clerks and jerks4   
,they went on to become one of the most 
decorated units by the end of the war4  
7#h7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha distinguished
 himself with extraordinary heroism     
while leading #hi men on a              
reconnaissance mission near ,phuoc      
,vinh1 ,vietnam1 from ,march #afth      
through #ahth1 #aifh4 ,as part of the   
,tet ,offensive1 his unit was dropped by
 helicopter and his men set out to repel
 attacks by ,north ,vietnamese and ,viet
 ,cong forces4 ,as the sun set on ,march
 #ah1 #aifh1 he and his men advanced    
into a dense jungle and found themselves
 outgunned by approximately #a1ejj enemy
 troops4 ,under attack1 he crawled #dj  
yards through the hail of fire and      
singlehandedly destroyed a machine-gun  
bunker with grenades1 all while         
sustaining a shrapnel wound4 ,he then   

orchestrated an overnight offensive1    
directing his men to spread out1 throw  
grenades1 and unleash heavy fire4 ,he   
made the enemy believe they were a much 
larger force4 ,his leadership led to the
 defeat of a superior ,vietnamese       
stronghold1 leaving #aef enemy dead4    
,come morning1 he guided the medical    
evacuation of three air-ambulance loads 
of seriously wounded personnel4  7#i7   
,president ,richard ,nixon presented the
 ,medal of ,honor to ,paul ,w4 ,bud     
,bucha in a ceremony at the ,white      
,house in #aigj4  7#aj7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud  
,bucha originally wanted to turn down   
the ,medal of ,honor because he did not 
feel deserving4 ,in ,vietnam1 he asked  
his men to trust him and1 in turn1      
promised to bring them home safe4 #aj of
 his men were killed on the night of    
,march #ah1 #aifh4 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha
 ultimately accepted the ,medal of      
,honor in their memory1 saying it       
belongs to his men4  7#aa7 ,paul ,w4    
,bud ,bucha resigned his ,army          

commission in #aigb4  7#ab7 ,paul ,w4   
,bud ,bucha was an active member of     
several veterans service organizations  
7commonly referred to as ,v,s,os71      
including the ,american ,legion1        
,veterans of ,foreign ,wars1 ,disabled  
,american ,veterans1 and the ,vietnam   
,veterans of ,america4 ,he generously   
served on the board of directors of     
,homes for ,our ,troops1 a ,,vso that   
builds specially adapted custom homes   
for severely injured veterans4 ,he also 
served as ,chairman of the ,advisory    
,committee on ,veterans ,employment and 
,training ,services at the ,department  
of ,labor4  7#ac7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha 
used his voice for veterans struggling  
with mental health4 ,he believed that   
all veterans1 whether they have #d stars
 or no stripes1 man or woman1 would be  
touched by post-traumatic stress4 ,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 struggle4  7#ad7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud   
,bucha battled post-traumatic stress on 
his own for #db years before            
courageously seeking help at the medical
 center of the ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs in ,west ,haven1 ,connecticut4 
,in the final years of his life1 ,paul  
,w4 ,bud ,bucha also received           
neurological care at that medical       
center4 ,his family expressed deep      
gratitude for the compassionate and     
skilled care he received1 especially    
recognizing the leadership of ,dr4      
,huned ,patwa1 ,chief of ,staff1 and    
,dr4 ,becky ,rhoads1 ,executive         
,director4 ,his family also commended   
the dedicated neurologists1             
psychiatrists1 and oncologists who      
supported him as his health declined4   
7#ae7 ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha spent the   
last two weeks of his life at the       
medical center of the ,department in    
,west ,haven1 ,connecticut1 and passed  
away from complications of ,alzheimer's 

disease on ,july #ca1 #bjbd4 ,in his    
final act of courage and service1 he    
donated his brain to the ,center for    
,human ,brain ,discovery at ,yale       
,university4  #c4 ,designation of       
,captain ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha ,,va     
,medical ,center  7a7 ,in general ,the  
medical center of the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs in ,west ,haven1     
,connecticut1 or any successor location 
for such medical center1 shall after the
 date of the enactment of this ,act be  
known and designated as the ,captain    
,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs ,medical ,center or  
the ,captain ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha ,,va 
,medical ,center4  7b7 ,reference ,any  
reference in any law1 regulation1 map1  
document1 paper1 or other record of the 
,united ,states to the medical center   
referred to in subsection 7a7 shall be  
considered to be a reference to the     
,captain ,paul ,w4 ,bud ,bucha ,,va     
,medical ,center4  ,passed the ,house of
 ,representatives ,july #ae1            

#bjbf4,kevin ,f4 ,mc,cumber1,clerk4     
,july #af1 #bjbf,received2 read twice   
and placed on the calendar