I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4955 

To name the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, as the ‘‘Henry Parham VA 

Clinic’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. BOYLE of 

Pennsylvania, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

MEUSER, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. WILD, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To name the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, as the ‘‘Henry Parham VA Clinic’’. 

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) Henry Parham was born in Emporia, Vir6 ginia, in November 1921. 


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1 (2) At age 21, Henry Parham was drafted into 

2 the Army and shipped out to England in 1943 with 

3 the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion in preparation 

4 for the D-Day invasions. 

5 (3) The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a 

6 segregated Army unit, consisted of approximately 

7 700 African-American soldiers with the mission of 

8 hoisting barrage balloons designed to entangle in9 coming German planes and prevent them from con10 ducting strafing runs on ground troops. 

11 (4) On June 6, 1944, Private First Class 

12 Henry Parham and his section of the 320th Barrage 

13 Balloon Battalion landed at Omaha Beach. With the 

14 threat of enemy sniper and rifle fire ever present, 

15 PFC Parham’s unit performed their duties, hoisting 

16 their barrage balloons 2,000 feet into the air over 

17 the beachhead in Normandy. 

18 (5) For two months, Private First Class Henry 

19 Parham and the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion 

20 stood watch at Omaha Beach, keeping the pipeline 

21 of incoming supplies and Allied troops secure before 

22 returning to the United States in September 1944. 

23 (6) After his service, Henry Parham moved to 

24 Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, where he lived and 

25 worked as a heavy equipment operator until 1986. 


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1 There, he met and married his wife, Ethel Parham, 

2 to whom he was married for more than 45 years. 

3 (7) Henry Parham died on July 4, 2021, in 

4 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of 99. He was 

5 survived by his wife, Ethel, both of whom served for 

6 decades as volunteers at the medical center of the 

7 Department of Veterans Affairs in Pittsburgh, 

8 Pennsylvania, and local chapters of veterans service 

9 organizations. 

10 (8) Henry Parham was the last surviving Afri11 can-American combat veteran who took part in the 

12 D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. 

13 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF HENRY PARHAM DEPARTMENT OF 

14 VETERANS AFFAIRS CLINIC. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION.—The community-based outpatient 

16 clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroe17 ville, Pennsylvania, shall after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act be known and designated as the ‘‘Henry 

19 Parham Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic’’ or the 

20 ‘‘Henry Parham VA Clinic’’. 

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

23 States to the community-based outpatient clinic referred 


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1 to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a reference 

2 to the Henry Parham VA Clinic. 

Æ 


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