IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2693 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To designate the arboretum at the Hunter Holmes McGuire 

VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, as the ‘‘Phyllis E. Galanti Arboretum’’. 

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 makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Phyllis Eason Galanti, a tireless advocate 

4 for the rights of prisoners of war from the United 

5 States during the Vietnam War and a beloved mem6 ber of the Richmond, Virginia, community, died on 

7 April 23, 2014. 

8 (2) Ms. Eason graduated from the College of 

9 William and Mary in 1963 and shortly afterward 

10 was married to Paul Edward Galanti, a pilot with 

11 the United States Navy, at the Chapel of the Centu12 rion in Fort Monroe, Virginia. 

13 (3) In June 1966, when Mr. Galanti was shot 

14 down over North Vietnam, captured, and held pris15 oner, Phyllis E. Galanti became active in the Na16 tional League of Families of American Prisoners 

17 and Missing in Southeast Asia, soon becoming chair 

18 of the organization. 

19 (4) Mrs. Galanti spearheaded the Let’s Bring 

20 Paul Galanti Home project as part of the national 

21 Write Hanoi campaign— 

22 (A) to raise awareness; 

23 (B) to secure the return of more than 600 

24 soldiers from the United States who were miss25 ing in action or held as prisoners of war in 

26 Vietnam; and 


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HR 2693 RFS 

1 (C) to ensure that prisoners of war were 

2 treated in accordance with the Geneva Conven3 tions. 

4 (5) The efforts of Mrs. Galanti under the Let’s 

5 Bring Paul Galanti Home project, the most success6 ful of many such campaigns, resulted in more than 

7 1,000,000 letters that were personally delivered to 

8 the North Vietnamese embassy in Stockholm, Swe9 den, in 1971. 

10 (6) Mrs. Galanti became known as ‘‘Fearless 

11 Phyllis’’, traveling to Versailles, France, seeking an 

12 audience with North Vietnamese leaders, and giving 

13 hundreds of presentations to policy leaders in the 

14 United States, including President Richard Nixon, 

15 National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Vir16 ginia Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., who said of her 

17 in 1975, ‘‘One dedicated woman and a handful of 

18 others had more influence on the communist world 

19 than legions of armies and diplomats.’’. 

20 (7) After more than seven years apart, Mrs. 

21 Galanti was reunited with her husband Paul Galanti 

22 at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia, on 

23 February 15, 1973. 

24 (8) Mrs. Galanti spent decades confronting the 

25 issue of prisoners and hostages from the United 


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HR 2693 RFS 

1 States, not only in Vietnam but also in the Soviet 

2 Union and Iran. 

3 (9) Mrs. Galanti actively supported the Virginia 

4 Home, Theatre IV, and the Virginia Repertory The5 atre, visited schools, and continued to meet with law6 makers until she died on April 23, 2014, at age 73, 

7 from complications with leukemia. 

8 (10) The work of Mrs. Galanti earned her the 

9 American Legion Service Medal, and the Paul and 

10 Phyllis Galanti Education Center at the Virginia 

11 War Memorial was named in honor of her and her 

12 husband. 

13 (11) The leadership at the Hunter Holmes 

14 McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, 

15 including Director John Brandecker, seeks to recog16 nize Mrs. Galanti by naming the arboretum at Hun17 ter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in her 

18 honor. 

19 (12) It is a fitting tribute that Congress name 

20 the arboretum after such an outstanding advocate 

21 for members of the Armed Forces of the United 

22 States and veterans. 


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1 SEC. 2. PHYLLIS E. GALANTI ARBORETUM AT HUNTER 

2 HOLMES MCGUIRE VA MEDICAL CENTER IN 

3 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 

4 (a) DESIGNATION.—The arboretum at the Hunter 

5 Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Vir6 ginia, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act 

7 be known and designated as the ‘‘Phyllis E. Galanti Arbo8 retum’’. 

9 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula10 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

11 States to the arboretum referred to in subsection (a) shall 

12 be considered to be a reference to the Phyllis E. Galanti 

13 Arboretum. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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