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CONGRESSMAN ADERHOLT’S BILL TO HONOR GADSDEN RESIDENT PASSESTHE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The “Colonel Ola Lee Mize Veterans Clinic” bill, H.R. 5736, passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote last night. The bill honors Colonel Mize’s many years of service, including a Korean War Medal of Honor, by naming the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Gadsden, the “Colonel Ola Lee Mize Veterans Clinic.” 

The bill was introduced by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) on April 9, 2008 and debated on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on September 15, 2008.  The bill will now be sent to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

“The Medal of Honor is our nation’s highest military decoration that is not awarded lightly and not awarded often. Ola Mize is a great man that has served our country with bravery and class and I am very pleased that this bill has passed the House of Representatives,” said Congressman Aderholt.  “Colonel Mize is an inspiration deserving of every accolade he receives, and it is very appropriate that the US House of Representative has recognized his service to our nation by voting to name this local facility after him.”

Col. Ola Mize earned his medal of honor while serving as a Sergeant for the US Army with Company K of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.  After the Korean War, Col. Mize joined the Special Forces and completed three tours of duty in Vietnam. He retired as a colonel in 1981.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President, any reference to this community based out-patient clinic in any law, regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the United States shall be considered to be a reference to the Colonel Ola Lee Mize Veterans Clinic.

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