WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed legislation offered by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) to honor WWII Veteran and Kansan Lieutenant General Richard “Dick” Seitz. The legislation would designate the Junction City Community-Based Outpatient Clinic as the “Lieutenant General Richard J. Seitz Community-Based Outpatient Clinic,” and was included in the Veterans Programs Improvements Act, S. 1581, the committee’s omnibus bill.

“Our country lost a great man, a dedicated soldier, and an American hero when Lieutenant General Dick Seitz passed away,” Sen. Moran said. “Dick was a mentor, a friend, and someone I hold in extremely high regard. As a native Kansan who settled in Junction City following his military retirement, he never retired from serving. I’m grateful for his commitment to serving Junction City and am delighted to honor him by working to name the community-based outpatient clinic in his honor.”

“General Dick Seitz is an American icon. He was at Anzio, the Black Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. When Hitler’s troops almost broke out, it was Dick Seitz’s paratroopers that stopped them,” said Sen. Roberts. “Over his lifetime, General Seitz’s honor and valor were only out shown by his commitment to his fellow men and women who bravely serve in our nation’s armed forces. I can think of no more fitting tribute to this great American hero than naming a facility dedicated to the service of his fellow soldiers in his honor.”

The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs facility provides primary care, behavioral health, personal care, laboratory, prescriptions and psychiatry services for veterans.

Lt. Gen. Seitz is a WWII Veteran who successfully led his battalion through the Battle of the Bulge. During his Army career, which included nearly 37 years of active duty, Lt. Gen. Seitz received numerous awards including the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. Following his military retirement, Lt. Gen. Seitz settled in Junction City, where he frequently visited Ft. Riley to greet deploying and returning units from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as mentor young and noncommissioned officers. He was also involved with the Coronado Council of the Boy Scouts, served on the Board of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, and was named an Outstanding Citizen of Kansas. In 2012, the General Richard J. Seitz Elementary School at Ft. Riley was named in his honor.

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