To designate the arboretum at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, as the "Phyllis E. Galanti Arboretum".
PL 114-103 (H.R.2693), enacted 12/18/2015

129 STAT. 2214 
PUBLIC LAW 114–103—DEC. 18, 2015 
Public Law 114–103 
114th Congress 
An Act 
To designate the arboretum at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center 
in Richmond, Virginia, as the ‘‘Phyllis E. Galanti Arboretum’’. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Phyllis Eason Galanti, a tireless advocate for the rights 
of prisoners of war from the United States during the Vietnam 
War and a beloved member of the Richmond, Virginia, commu-
nity, died on April 23, 2014. 
(2) Ms. Eason graduated from the College of William and 
Mary in 1963 and shortly afterward was married to Paul 
Edward Galanti, a pilot with the United States Navy, at the 
Chapel of the Centurion in Fort Monroe, Virginia. 
(3) In June 1966, when Mr. Galanti was shot down over 
North Vietnam, captured, and held prisoner, Phyllis E. Galanti 
became active in the National League of Families of American 
Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, soon becoming chair 
of the organization. 
(4) Mrs. Galanti spearheaded the Let’s Bring Paul Galanti 
Home project as part of the national Write Hanoi campaign— 
(A) to raise awareness; 
(B) to secure the return of more than 600 soldiers 
from the United States who were missing in action or 
held as prisoners of war in Vietnam; and 
(C) to ensure that prisoners of war were treated in 
accordance with the Geneva Conventions. 
(5) The efforts of Mrs. Galanti under the Let’s Bring Paul 
Galanti Home project, the most successful of many such cam-
paigns, resulted in more than 1,000,000 letters that were 
personally delivered to the North Vietnamese embassy in Stock-
holm, Sweden, in 1971. 
(6) Mrs. Galanti became known as ‘‘Fearless Phyllis’’, trav-
eling to Versailles, France, seeking an audience with North 
Vietnamese leaders, and giving hundreds of presentations to 
policy leaders in the United States, including President Richard 
Nixon, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Virginia 
Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., who said of her in 1975, ‘‘One 
dedicated woman and a handful of others had more influence 
on the communist world than legions of armies and diplomats.’’. 
(7) After more than seven years apart, Mrs. Galanti was 
reunited with her husband Paul Galanti at the Naval Air 
Station in Norfolk, Virginia, on February 15, 1973. 
Dec. 18, 2015 
[H.R. 2693] 
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129 STAT. 2215 
PUBLIC LAW 114–103—DEC. 18, 2015 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2693: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 161 (2015): 
Dec. 8, considered and passed House. 
Dec. 10, considered and passed Senate. 
(8) Mrs. Galanti spent decades confronting the issue of 
prisoners and hostages from the United States, not only in 
Vietnam but also in the Soviet Union and Iran. 
(9) Mrs. Galanti actively supported the Virginia Home, 
Theatre IV, and the Virginia Repertory Theatre, visited schools, 
and continued to meet with lawmakers until she died on April 
23, 2014, at age 73, from complications with leukemia. 
(10) The work of Mrs. Galanti earned her the American 
Legion Service Medal, and the Paul and Phyllis Galanti Edu-
cation Center at the Virginia War Memorial was named in 
honor of her and her husband. 
(11) The leadership at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA 
Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, including Director John 
Brandecker, seeks to recognize Mrs. Galanti by naming the 
arboretum at Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in 
her honor. 
(12) It is a fitting tribute that Congress name the arbo-
retum after such an outstanding advocate for members of the 
Armed Forces of the United States and veterans. 
SEC. 2. PHYLLIS E. GALANTI ARBORETUM AT HUNTER HOLMES 
MCGUIRE VA MEDICAL CENTER IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 
(a) DESIGNATION.—The arboretum at the Hunter Holmes 
McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, shall after 
the date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated 
as the ‘‘Phyllis E. Galanti Arboretum’’. 
(b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the arbo-
retum referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a 
reference to the Phyllis E. Galanti Arboretum. 
Approved December 18, 2015. 
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