BUTTE — The Montana VA Health Care System (MTVAHCS) will host a renaming ceremony for its VA clinic in Butte on Friday, May 23.
The clinic will be officially renamed the Charlie Dowd VA Clinic in honor of Charles “Charlie” Dowd, the last known living Pearl Harbor survivor from Montana, who passed away on March 17, 2023, at the age of 99.
WATCH: Charlie Dowd of Anaconda, last Pearl Harbor survivor in Montana, dies at age 99
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at 40 Three Bears Drive in Butte. The event will honor both Charlie's service and the service of all Montana Veterans.
“We are honored to be able to rename this clinic after a local Veteran like Charlie,” said Montana VA Executive Director Duane Gill. “At 17 years of age, this proud Sailor ran out to defend Pearl Harbor in only a t-shirt and trousers. It is that fighting spirit that we will recognize.”
Following his service at Pearl Harbor, Dowd went on to serve in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea, earning two Bronze Star Medals before settling in Butte.
WATCH: Veterans honor Montana's last surviving Pearl Harbor veteran from Anaconda
The Butte VA clinic, which opened in 2022, cost $1.3 million to build and is 11,072 square feet, nearly four times larger than its previous location in Anaconda, which was 3,218 square feet. The increased space allows for greater access to healthcare services and a larger VA healthcare team.
Currently, over 1,750 area Veterans receive care at the Butte clinic, including 1,100 from Silver Bow County, who were previously served at the Anaconda facility or traveled to Fort Harrison for primary care. Additionally, the clinic provides services to approximately 600 Veterans from surrounding counties.
The MTVAHCS serves over 49,000 enrolled Veterans across nearly 147,000 square miles in Montana, with a staff of more than 1,400 employees at 18 sites of care statewide. Notably, one third of the Montana VA employees are Veterans.
For more information about VA care, visit va.gov. To learn more about local services, visit the Montana VA Health Care System’s website at va.gov.
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