II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4533 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2018 

Received 

AN ACT 

To designate the health care system of the Department of 

Veterans Affairs in Lexington, Kentucky, as the ‘‘Lexington VA Health Care System’’ and to make certain 

other designations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1)(A) Private First Class Franklin Runyon 

4 Sousley was born on September 19, 1925, in Hilltop, 

5 Kentucky. Sousley served as a marine in the United 

6 States Marine Corps during the period beginning on 

7 January 5, 1944, and ending March 21, 1945. 

8 Sousley graduated from Fleming County High 

9 School in May 1943 and chose to enlist in the 

10 United States Marine Corps. Upon completion of 

11 military basic training, he was assigned to Company 

12 E, 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marines 

13 Division at Camp Pendleton, California, as an auto14 matic rifleman. 

15 (B) Private Sousley was promoted to a private 

16 first class on November 22, 1944. Pfc. Sousley land17 ed on Iwo Jima on Friday, February 19, 1945, and 

18 actively fought in the battle for the islands. During 

19 the intense fighting, members of the United States 

20 Armed Forces secured Mount Suribachi and hoisted 

21 a United States flag on top of the summit on Feb22 ruary 23, 1945. On February 23, 1945, Pfc. 

23 Sousley, alongside Corporal Harlon Block, HM John 

24 Bradley, Pfc. Rene Gagnon, Pfc. Ira Hayes, and 

25 Sergeant Michael Strank followed orders to raise a 

26 larger United States flag so it could be seen over the 


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1 island. The iconic photograph taken of the six men, 

2 while they raised the United States flag attached to 

3 a heavy Japanese pipe has led to an immortalized 

4 symbol of American bravery, perseverance, and sac5 rifice endured by members of the United States 

6 Armed Forces during the intense battles of World 

7 War II. Pfc. Sousley was killed in combat by a Jap8 anese sniper around Kitano Point on March 21, 

9 1945. 

10 (C) Originally buried in the 5th Marine Divi11 sion Cemetery at Iwo Jima in plot 9, row 8, grave 

12 2189, on March 22, 1945, his remains were re13 turned to the United States on May 8, 1947, where 

14 he was finally laid to rest at Elizaville Cemetery in 

15 Fleming County, Kentucky. Pfc. Sousley was post16 humously awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat 

17 Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation with 

5 18 ⁄16′′ Silver Star, the American Campaign Medal, the 

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 19 ⁄16′′ Bronze 

20 Star, and the World War II Victory Medal. 

21 (2)(A) Mr. Troy Bowling was born on July 2, 

22 1926, in Hamilton, Ohio and completed his life’s 

23 service on June, 17, 2017, at the age of 90 years 

24 old. At age 17, Mr. Bowling began his service as a 

25 United States Marine and was a proud member of 


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1 the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines, 

2 5th Division. During the United States campaign to 

3 end the war against Japan, Mr. Bowling’s unit was 

4 among the first to arrive on the beachheads of Iwo 

5 Jima. 

6 (B) While attempting to secure Mt. Suribachi, 

7 his unit came under intense and concentrated fire, 

8 completely overwhelming his unit. Two projectiles 

9 struck Mr. Bowling in the chest and leg, leaving him 

10 critically wounded on the battlefield. At that mo11 ment, Mr. Bowling said he looked to the heavens 

12 and committed to serving mankind for the rest of 

13 his life if he survived. 

14 (C) Miraculously, a combat photographer and 

15 medical team then carried Mr. Bowling to the safety 

16 of a landing craft where he witnessed the planting 

17 of the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi—an iconic 

18 image that persists as one of the most legendary and 

19 triumphant moments of the war. The United States 

20 Marines eventually took control of the island; how21 ever, this victory came at a heavy cost as more than 

22 6,800 United States service members gave their lives 

23 during the battle of Iwo Jima. 

24 (D) In keeping faith with his commitment to 

25 God made during that battle, Mr. Bowling devoted 


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1 more than 78,000 hours of volunteer service to oth2 ers at the Lexington VA Medical Center. For more 

3 than 66 years, Mr. Bowling has risen through the 

4 ranks within the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) 

5 organization, holding nearly every position possible, 

6 including State Commander. Mr. Bowling received 

7 the George H. Seal Award for outstanding volunteer, 

8 which he received at the 2005 National DAV Con9 vention in Las Vegas and the Lifetime Service 

10 Achievement Award from the Department of Vet11 eran Affairs. Mr. Bowling was also nominated and 

12 selected to be inducted in the Kentucky Veterans 

13 Hall of Fame for his lifetime of service to veterans. 

14 SEC. 2. LEXINGTON VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION.—The health care system of the 

16 Department of Veterans Affairs in Lexington, Kentucky, 

17 shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 

18 and designated as the ‘‘Lexington VA Health Care Sys19 tem’’. 

20 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula21 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

22 States to the health care system referred to in subsection 

23 (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Lexington 

24 VA Health Care System’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. TROY BOWLING CAMPUS. 

2 (a) DESIGNATION.—The health care facility of the 

3 Department of Veterans Affairs located at 1101 Veterans 

4 Drive in Lexington, Kentucky, shall after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act be known and designated as the 

6 ‘‘Troy Bowling Campus’’. 

7 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula8 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

9 States to the health care facility referred to in subsection 

10 (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Troy Bowling 

11 Campus’’. 

12 SEC. 4. FRANKLIN R. SOUSLEY CAMPUS. 

13 (a) DESIGNATION.—The health care facility of the 

14 Department of Veterans Affairs located at 2250 Leestown 

15 Road in Lexington, Kentucky, shall after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act be known and designated as the 

17 ‘‘Franklin R. Sousley Campus’’. 

18 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula19 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

20 States to the health care facility referred to in subsection 


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1 (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Franklin 

2 R. Sousley Campus’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 13, 

2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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