The new VA center in Monroeville will be named for a member of the only all-Black unit to take part in the D-Day invasion during World War II.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic behind the Monroeville Mall will become the Henry Parham VA Clinic.
Parham, a Wilkinsburg resident who died in 2021 at the age of 99, was a 1st class private in the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only all-Black unit to land at Omaha Beach on D-Day.
From early June to well into August 1944, Parham stayed on the beach with his unit, performing the largely unpublicized mission of raising hydrogen-filled barrage balloons to deny low-level airspace to enemy planes. The balloons were anchored to the ground by steel cables, with small explosive charges attached to them which were capable of taking the wing off of a swiftly moving plane.
Parham’s battalion ended up serving 140 days in France, including a stint in Cherbourg protecting Gen. George Patton’s Third Army.
The bill passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on Saturday.
Below, watch Parham’s interview about his time in the service with the Veterans Breakfast Club.
