[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7347 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.7347

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twenty


                                 An Act


 
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the ``Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles 
            Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center''.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARLES S. KETTLES 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER.
    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
        (1) Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles was born in 
    Ypsilanti, Michigan, on January 9, 1930.
        (2) Lieutenant Colonel Kettles was drafted to the Army at age 
    21, and after attending Officer Candidate School, earned his 
    commission as an armor officer in the United States Army Reserve on 
    February 28, 1953.
        (3) Lieutenant Colonel Kettles graduated from the Army Aviation 
    School in 1953 before serving active duty tours in South Korea, 
    Japan, and Thailand.
        (4) Lieutenant Colonel Kettles volunteered for active duty in 
    1963 when the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War.
        (5) Some of the awards and decorations earned by Lieutenant 
    Colonel Kettles include the following:
            (A) The Medal of Honor.
            (B) The Distinguished Service Cross.
            (C) The Legion of Merit.
            (D) The Distinguished Flying Cross.
            (E) The Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster.
            (F) The Air Medal with numeral 27.
            (G) The Korean Service Medal.
            (H) The Vietnam Service Medal with one silver service star 
        and one bronze service star.
            (I) The Master Aviator Badge.
        (6) The Medal of Honor citation for Lieutenant Colonel Kettles 
    states, ``Major Charles S. Kettles distinguished himself by 
    conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as Flight 
    Commander, 176th Aviation Company (Airmobile) (Light), 14th Combat 
    Aviation Battalion, Americal Division near Duc Pho, Republic of 
    Vietnam. On 15 May 1967, Major Kettles, upon learning that an 
    airborne infantry unit had suffered casualties during an intense 
    firefight with the enemy, immediately volunteered to lead a flight 
    of six UH-1D helicopters to carry reinforcements to the embattled 
    force and to evacuate wounded personnel. Enemy small arms, 
    automatic weapons, and mortar fire raked the landing zone, 
    inflicting heavy damage to the helicopters; however, Major Kettles 
    refused to depart until all helicopters were loaded to capacity. He 
    then returned to the battlefield, with full knowledge of the 
    intense enemy fire awaiting his arrival, to bring more 
    reinforcements, landing in the midst of enemy mortar and automatic 
    weapons fire that seriously wounded his gunner and severely damaged 
    his aircraft. Upon departing, Major Kettles was advised by another 
    helicopter crew that he had fuel streaming out of his aircraft. 
    Despite the risk posed by the leaking fuel, he nursed the damaged 
    aircraft back to base. Later that day, the Infantry Battalion 
    Commander requested immediate, emergency extraction of the 
    remaining 40 troops, including four members of Major Kettles' unit 
    who were stranded when their helicopter was destroyed by enemy 
    fire. With only one flyable UH-1 helicopter remaining, Major 
    Kettles volunteered to return to the deadly landing zone for a 
    third time, leading a flight of six evacuation helicopters, five of 
    which were from the 161st Aviation Company. During the extraction, 
    Major Kettles was informed by the last helicopter that all 
    personnel were onboard, and departed the landing zone accordingly. 
    Army gunships supporting the evacuation also departed the area. 
    Once airborne, Major Kettles was advised that eight troops had been 
    unable to reach the evacuation helicopters due to the intense enemy 
    fire. With complete disregard for his own safety, Major Kettles 
    passed the lead to another helicopter and returned to the landing 
    zone to rescue the remaining troops. Without gunship, artillery, or 
    tactical aircraft support, the enemy concentrated all firepower on 
    his lone aircraft, which was immediately damaged by a mortar round 
    that shattered both front windshields and the chin bubble and was 
    further raked by small arms and machine gun fire. Despite the 
    intense enemy fire, Major Kettles maintained control of the 
    aircraft and situation, allowing time for the remaining eight 
    soldiers to board the aircraft. In spite of the severe damage to 
    his helicopter, Major Kettles once more skillfully guided his 
    heavily damaged aircraft to safety. Without his courageous actions 
    and superior flying skills, the last group of soldiers and his crew 
    would never have made it off the battlefield. Major Kettles' 
    selfless acts of repeated valor and determination are in keeping 
    with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great 
    credit upon himself and the United States Army.''.
    (b) Designation.--The medical center of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in Ann Arbor, Michigan, shall after the date of the enactment 
of this Act be known and designated as the ``Lieutenant Colonel Charles 
S. Kettles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center'' or the 
``Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center''.
    (c) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the medical 
center referred to in subsection (b) shall be considered to be a 
reference to the Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles Department of 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.