Richard L. Roudebush

Richard Lowell Roudebush (January 18, 1918 – January 28, 1995) was an American politician who served five terms as a U.S. representative from Indiana from 1961 to 1971.

Early life and education Born on a farm in Hamilton County, near Noblesville, Indiana, Roudebush attended Hamilton County schools. He graduated from Butler University, Indianapolis, in 1941.

World War II He served in the United States Army from November 18, 1941, to August 12, 1944, as a demolition specialist for the Ordnance Department in Middle Eastern, North African, and Italian campaigns. He was a farmer and a partner in a livestock commission company. He served as National Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1957–1958, and as chairman of the Indiana Veterans Commission from 1954 to 1960.

Congress Roudebush was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-seventh and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1971). Roudebush voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1970, but was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate against incumbent Democrat Vance Hartke in the closest Senate election in Indiana history.

Later career and death He later served as the Administrator of Veterans Affairs from 1974 to 1977.

He died in Sarasota, Florida on January 28, 1995, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The Richard L. Roudebush V.A. Medical Center in Indianapolis was named in his honor.