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Obama signs bill to rename Phila. V.A. hospital

WASHINGTON - The name of Michael J. Crescenz, the only Philadelphian to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War, will adorn Philadelphia's VA hospital now that President Obama has signed a bill to rename the facility.

FILE: Philadelphia VA Medical Center, at 3900 Woodland Ave.
FILE: Philadelphia VA Medical Center, at 3900 Woodland Ave.Read more

WASHINGTON - The name of Michael J. Crescenz, the only Philadelphian to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War, will adorn Philadelphia's VA hospital now that President Obama has signed a bill to rename the facility.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 3900 Woodland Ave. will be renamed in honor of Crescenz, who was 19 when he was killed in action in 1968.

The West Oak Lane native died charging a North Vietnamese machine-gun bunker during an ambush that - if not for his heroism - could have wiped out his squad.

Obama signed the bill Tuesday after it cleared the House and Senate this month.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) sponsored the House and Senate bills to rename the medical center. - Jonathan Tamari