II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2210 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 18, 2017 

Received 

AN ACT 

To designate the community living center of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs in Butler Township, Butler County, 

Pennsylvania, as the ‘‘Sergeant Joseph George Kusick 

VA Community Living Center’’. 

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) Sergeant Joseph George Kusick of Bruin, 

4 Pennsylvania, was assigned to the command and 

5 control detachment of the 5th Special Forces Group 

6 (Airborne) of the Army during the Vietnam War. 

7 (2) On November 8, 1967, Kusick distinguished 

8 himself by exceptionally valorous actions while serv9 ing as a radio operator of a special forces reconnais10 sance team on a combat mission deep in hostile ter11 ritory. 

12 (3) During an enemy ambush, Kusick, though 

13 seriously wounded, refused aid and radioed the for14 ward air controller to advise him of the critical situ15 ation. 

16 (4) While the team leader led a withdrawal to 

17 a landing zone, Kusick maintained contact with the 

18 controller and requested emergency extraction. 

19 (5) Realizing the importance of having a radio 

20 operator on the ground to direct landings, Kusick 

21 refused evacuation by the first helicopter. 

22 (6) After the second helicopter was shot down, 

23 and in the midst of enemy fire, Kusick continued to 

24 maintain radio contact and called for a hoist extrac25 tion of the men still remaining on the ground. 


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HR 2210 RDS

1 (7) The last helicopter, which Kusick boarded, 

2 was shot down by intense Viet Cong fire and crashed 

3 in flames, resulting in Kusick’s death. 

4 (8) On December 22, 1967, Kusick was post5 humously awarded the Silver Star Medal for gal6 lantry in action. 

7 (9) The citation to accompany the award of the 

8 Silver Star Medal stated that ‘‘Kusick’s gallantry in 

9 action, at the cost of his life, was in keeping with 

10 the highest traditions of the military service and re11 flects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the 

12 United States Army’’. 

13 SEC. 2. SERGEANT JOSEPH GEORGE KUSICK VA COMMU14 NITY LIVING CENTER. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION.—The community living center of 

16 the Department of Veterans Affairs in Butler Township, 

17 Butler County, Pennsylvania, shall after the date of the 

18 enactment of this Act be known and designated as the 

19 ‘‘Sergeant Joseph George Kusick VA Community Living 

20 Center’’. 

21 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula22 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

23 States to the community living center referred to in sub24 section (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘SerVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Aug 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2210.RDS H2210

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HR 2210 RDS

1 geant Joseph George Kusick VA Community Living Cen2 ter’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 17, 2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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