I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4533 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2017 

Mr. BARR (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. MASSIE, and Mr. COMER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

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

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

7 Kentucky. Sousley served as a marine in the United 

8 States Marine Corps during the period beginning on 


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

2 Sousley graduated from Fleming County High 

3 School in May 1943 and chose to enlist in the 

4 United States Marine Corps. Upon completion of 

5 military basic training, he was assigned to Company 

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

7 Division at Camp Pendleton, California, as an auto8 matic rifleman. 

9 (B) Private Sousley was promoted to a private 

10 first class on November 22, 1944. Pfc. Sousley land11 ed on Iwo Jima on Friday, February 19, 1945, and 

12 actively fought in the battle for the islands. During 

13 the intense fighting, members of the United States 

14 Armed Forces secured Mount Suribachi and hoisted 

15 a United States flag on top of the summit on Feb16 ruary 23, 1945. On February 23, 1945, Pfc. 

17 Sousley, alongside Corporal Harlon Block, HM John 

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

19 Sergeant Michael Strank followed orders to raise a 

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

21 island. The iconic photograph taken of the 6 men, 

22 while they raised the United States flag attached to 

23 a heavy Japanese pipe has led to an immortalized 

24 symbol of American bravery, perseverance, and sac25 rifice endured by members of the United States 


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1 Armed Forces during the intense battles of World 

2 War II. Pfc. Sousley was killed in combat by a Jap3 anese sniper around Kitano Point on March 21, 

4 1945. 

5 (C) Originally buried in the 5th Marine Divi6 sion Cemetery at Iwo Jima in plot 9, row 8, grave 

7 2189, on March 22, 1945, his remains were re8 turned to the United States on May 8, 1947, where 

9 he was finally laid to rest at Elizaville Cemetery in 

10 Fleming County, Kentucky. Pfc. Sousley was post11 humously awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat 

12 Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation with 

5 13 ⁄16′′ Silver Star, the American Campaign Medal, the 

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 14 ⁄16′′ Bronze 

15 Star, and the World War II Victory Medal. 

16 (2)(A) Mr. Troy E. Bowling was born on July 

17 2, 1926, in Hamilton, Ohio and completed his life’s 

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

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

20 United States Marine and was a proud member of 

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

22 5th Division. During the United States campaign to 

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

24 among the first to arrive on the beachheads of Iwo 

25 Jima. 


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

2 his unit came under intense and concentrated fire, 

3 completely overwhelming his unit. Two projectiles 

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

5 critically wounded on the battlefield. At that mo6 ment, Mr. Bowling said he looked to the heavens 

7 and committed to serving mankind for the rest of 

8 his life if he survived. 

9 (C) Miraculously, a combat photographer and 

10 medical team then carried Mr. Bowling to the safety 

11 of a landing craft where he witnessed the planting 

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

13 image that persists as one of the most legendary and 

14 triumphant moments of the war. The United States 

15 Marines eventually took control of the island; how16 ever, this victory came at a heavy cost as more than 

17 6,800 United States service members gave their lives 

18 during the battle of Iwo Jima. 

19 (D) In keeping faith with his commitment to 

20 God made during that battle, Mr. Bowling devoted 

21 more than 78,000 hours of volunteer service to oth22 ers at the Lexington VA Medical Center. For more 

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

24 ranks within the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) 

25 organization, holding nearly every position possible, 


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1 including State Commander. Mr. Bowling received 

2 the George H. Seal Award for outstanding volunteer, 

3 which he received at the 2005 National DAV Con4 vention in Las Vegas and the Lifetime Service 

5 Achievement Award from the Department of Vet6 eran Affairs. Mr. Bowling was also nominated and 

7 selected to be inducted in the Kentucky Veterans 

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

9 SEC. 2. LEXINGTON VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. 

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

11 Department of Veterans Affairs in Lexington, Kentucky, 

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

13 and designated as the ‘‘Lexington VA Health Care Sys14 tem’’. 

15 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula16 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

17 States to the health care system referred to in subsection 

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

19 VA Health Care System’’. 

20 SEC. 3. TROY E. BOWLING CAMPUS. 

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

22 Department of Veterans Affairs located at 1101 Veterans 

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

24 enactment of this Act be known and designated as the 

25 ‘‘Troy E. Bowling Campus’’. 


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1 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula2 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

3 States to the health care facility referred to in subsection 

4 (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Troy E. 

5 Bowling Campus’’. 

6 SEC. 4. FRANKLIN R. SOUSLEY CAMPUS. 

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

8 Department of Veterans Affairs located at 2250 Leestown 

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

10 enactment of this Act be known and designated as the 

11 ‘‘Franklin R. Sousley Campus’’. 

12 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula13 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

14 States to the health care facility referred to in subsection 

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

16 R. Sousley Campus’’. 

Æ 


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