Senate OKs bill to rename VA hospital for honored soldier

The Senate approved a measure Wednesday that would rename Philadelphia's Veterans Affairs hospital after the city's only Vietnam War-era Medal of Honor winner.

The bill, introduced by Sens. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and Robert P. Casey Jr. (D., Pa.), would rename the VA Medical Center on Woodland Avenue for Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz. It passed the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in July.

"It is great news that the Senate agrees with me that Cpl. Crescenz should be remembered in this way," Toomey said Wednesday night. "I realize this is a small gesture on our part, given the nature of his great actions. We do this with profound respect and deepest gratitude for his sacrifice."

Crescenz, 19, was killed while single-handedly taking out enemy machine-gun bunkers on Nov. 20, 1968, in South Vietnam. A Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Northeast Philadelphia was renamed for him last month. - Inquirer staff