[118th Congress Public Law 215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 138 STAT. 2806]]

Public Law 118-215
118th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To name the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, as the ``Henry Parham VA 
            Clinic'' <<NOTE: Jan. 2, 2025 -  [H.R. 4955]>> .

    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) Henry Parham was born in Emporia, Virginia, in November 
        1921.
            (2) At age 21, Henry Parham was drafted into the Army and 
        shipped out to England in 1943 with the 320th Barrage Balloon 
        Battalion in preparation for the D-Day invasions.
            (3) The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a segregated Army 
        unit, consisted of approximately 700 African-American soldiers 
        with the mission of hoisting barrage balloons designed to 
        entangle incoming German planes and prevent them from conducting 
        strafing runs on ground troops.
            (4) On June 6, 1944, Private First Class Henry Parham and 
        his section of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion landed at 
        Omaha Beach. With the threat of enemy sniper and rifle fire ever 
        present, PFC Parham's unit performed their duties, hoisting 
        their barrage balloons 2,000 feet into the air over the 
        beachhead in Normandy.
            (5) For two months, Private First Class Henry Parham and the 
        320th Barrage Balloon Battalion stood watch at Omaha Beach, 
        keeping the pipeline of incoming supplies and Allied troops 
        secure before returning to the United States in September 1944.
            (6) After his service, Henry Parham moved to Wilkinsburg, 
        Pennsylvania, where he lived and worked as a heavy equipment 
        operator until 1986. There, he met and married his wife, Ethel 
        Parham, to whom he was married for more than 45 years.
            (7) Henry Parham died on July 4, 2021, in Pittsburgh, 
        Pennsylvania, at the age of 99. He was survived by his wife, 
        Ethel, both of whom served for decades as volunteers at the 
        medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
        Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and local chapters of veterans service 
        organizations.
            (8) Henry Parham was the last surviving African-American 
        combat veteran who took part in the D-Day landings on June 6, 
        1944.

[[Page 138 STAT. 2807]]

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF HENRY PARHAM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
                    CLINIC.

    (a) Designation.--The community-based outpatient clinic of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, shall after 
the date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the 
``Henry Parham Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic'' or the ``Henry 
Parham VA Clinic''.
    (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the community-based 
outpatient clinic referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to 
be a reference to the Henry Parham VA Clinic.

    Approved January 2, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 4955:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 170 (2024):
            Dec. 16, considered and passed House.
            Dec. 20, considered and passed Senate.

                                  <all>