DeLauro Statement on Passage of Bill Renaming West Haven VA Clinic after Medal of Honor recipient Captain Paul Bucha
WATCH: DeLauro Speaks on Captain Paul Bucha
WASHINGTON —Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, and Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, issued the following statements on House passage of H.R. 4647, the Captain Paul W. ‘Bud’ Bucha VA Medical Center Act of 2025:
“I am grateful for this opportunity to put forward this legislation that would honor a man who embodied the highest ideal of service to his country, his fellow soldiers, and his community—Captain Paul ‘Bud’ Bucha, a longtime resident of Ridgefield and Medal of Honor recipient,” said Congresswoman DeLauro in remarks on the House floor. The Congresswoman continued: “Naming the West Haven VA Medical Center in his honor is a deserving tribute to a hero who fought for this country, earned its highest military distinction, and then continued to fight for veterans throughout his life.”
"Captain Paul Bucha was an American hero, and I'm grateful to my colleagues for joining Congresswoman DeLauro and me in our effort to rename the West Haven VA in his honor,” said Congressman Himes. “It is my hope that this act of our appreciation serves to enshrine his legacy of service, sacrifice, and courage for years to come and inspires everyone who walks through the doors of that facility.”
Captain Bucha received the Medal of Honor in 1970 for his heroic service while on active duty during the Vietnam War. Captain Bucha distinguished himself with extraordinary heroism while leading 89 men on a reconnaissance mission near Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam from March 16-19, 1968. Under heavy enemy fire from about 1,500 soldiers, he fearlessly directed defenses, personally destroyed a machine-gun bunker, and sustained a shrapnel wound. Using flashlights in complete view of enemy snipers, Captain Bucha also directed the medical evacuation of three air-ambulance loads of seriously wounded personnel. Under his leadership, D Company went on to become one of the most decorated units by the end of the war.
Bucha served as the President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society from 1995 to 1999, and advised President Obama on foreign policy during his 2008 Presidential campaign. He also served on the board of directors of Homes for Our Troops, a Veterans Service Organization that builds and donates specially adapted custom homes for severely injured Post-9/11 veterans, and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment and Training Services at the U.S. Department of Labor.