I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2693 

To designate the arboretum at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 9, 2015 

Mr. BRAT (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. RIGELL, 

Mr. FORBES, Mr. HURT of Virginia, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 

GRIFFITH, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mr. CONNOLLY, and Mr. SAM JOHNSON of 

Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Phyllis Eason Galanti, a tireless advocate 

6 for the rights of prisoners of war from the United 

7 States during the Vietnam War and a beloved memVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2693.IH H2693

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2693 IH

1 ber of the Richmond, Virginia, community, died on 

2 April 23, 2014. 

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

4 William and Mary in 1963 and shortly afterward 

5 was married to Paul Edward Galanti, a pilot with 

6 the United States Navy, at the Chapel of the Centu7 rion in Fort Monroe, Virginia. 

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

9 down over North Vietnam, captured, and held pris10 oner, Phyllis E. Galanti became active in the Na11 tional League of Families of American Prisoners 

12 and Missing in Southeast Asia, soon becoming chair 

13 of the organization. 

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

15 Paul Galanti Home project as part of the national 

16 Write Hanoi campaign— 

17 (A) to raise awareness; 

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

19 soldiers from the United States who were miss20 ing in action or held as prisoners of war in 

21 Vietnam; and 

22 (C) to ensure that prisoners of war were 

23 treated in accordance with the Geneva Conven24 tions. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2693 IH

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

2 Bring Paul Galanti Home project, the most success3 ful of many such campaigns, resulted in more than 

4 1,000,000 letters that were personally delivered to 

5 the North Vietnamese embassy in Stockholm, Swe6 den, in 1971. 

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

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

9 audience with North Vietnamese leaders, and giving 

10 hundreds of presentations to policy leaders in the 

11 United States, including President Richard Nixon, 

12 National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Vir13 ginia Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., who said of her 

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

15 others had more influence on the communist world 

16 than legions of armies and diplomats.’’. 

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

18 Galanti was reunited with her husband Paul Galanti 

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

20 February 15, 1973. 

21 (8) Mrs. Galanti spent decades confronting the 

22 issue of prisoners and hostages from the United 

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

24 Union and Iran. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2693 IH

1 (9) Mrs. Galanti actively supported the Virginia 

2 Home, Theatre IV, and the Virginia Repertory The3 atre, visited schools, and continued to meet with law4 makers until she died on April 23, 2014, at age 73, 

5 from complications with leukemia. 

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

7 American Legion Service Medal, and the Paul and 

8 Phyllis Galanti Education Center at the Virginia 

9 War Memorial was named in honor of her and her 

10 husband. 

11 (11) The leadership at the Hunter Holmes 

12 McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, 

13 including Director John Brandecker, seeks to recog14 nize Mrs. Galanti by naming the arboretum at Hun15 ter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in her 

16 honor. 

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

18 the arboretum after such an outstanding advocate 

19 for members of the Armed Forces of the United 

20 States and veterans. 

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

22 HOLMES MCGUIRE VA MEDICAL CENTER IN 

23 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 

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

25 Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, VirVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2693.IH H2693

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2693 IH

1 ginia, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act 

2 be known and designated as the ‘‘Phyllis E. Galanti Arbo3 retum’’. 

4 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula5 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

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

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

8 Arboretum. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS