V 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4580 
To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to retired Colonel 
Philip J. Conran for acts of valor in Laos as a member of the Air 
Force during the Vietnam War. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2025 
Mr. CARBAJAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor 
to retired Colonel Philip J. Conran for acts of valor 
in Laos as a member of the Air Force during the Viet-
nam War. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO AWARD THE MEDAL OF HONOR 
TO RETIRED COLONEL PHILIP J. CONRAN 
FOR ACTS OF VALOR IN LAOS DURING THE 
VIETNAM WAR. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) While a Major in the Air Force, Philip J. 
Conran demonstrated extraordinary heroism in mili-
tary operations against an opposing armed force as 
Aircraft Commander of a CH–3E helicopter of the 
21st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Op-
erations Wing, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air 
Base, Thailand, in action in Laos on October 6, 
1969. 
(2) The military referred to Laos as ‘‘a classi-
fied location in Southeast Asia’’ until decades after 
the Vietnam War ended when the role of the United 
States in Laos was declassified. 
(3) While attempting to rescue the crew of a 
downed helicopter, Major Conran’s aircraft was hit 
by intense hostile ground fire, yet despite the hostile 
ground fire, Major Conran continued the rescue op-
eration and landed in the vicinity of the downed 
crewmen. 
(4) Once on the ground, he successfully evacu-
ated his aircraft and assumed a major role in de-
fending the crash site against an overwhelming hos-
tile force until rescue was possible six hours later. 
(5) Major Conran repeatedly exposed himself to 
heavy barrages of enemy automatic weapons fire to 
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extract essential equipment from the downed heli-
copters. 
(6) In spite of receiving a severe leg wound 
while exposed to enemy fire and trying to strengthen 
their position, Major Conran continued to encourage 
the others and did not mention his wound until he 
had lost all feeling in his leg. 
(7) Major Conran’s decision to come to the aid 
of his downed comrades, his heroic actions above 
and beyond the call of duty while under severe hos-
tile fire, and his positive attitude throughout the or-
deal were instrumental in enabling the two heli-
copter crews and 44 friendly troops to withstand su-
perior odds until a rescue could be made. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding the time lim-
itations specified in section 9274 of title 10, United States 
Code, or any other time limitation with respect to the 
awarding of certain medals to persons who served in the 
Armed Forces, the President is authorized to award the 
Medal of Honor under section 9271 of such title to retired 
Colonel Philip J. Conran for the acts of valor in Laos de-
scribed in subsection (a) for which he was previously 
awarded the Air Force Cross. 
Æ 
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