(U.S. Senate) — Following sustained efforts from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester and the Montana delegation, President Biden yesterday signed into law bipartisan legislation to name the Butte VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in honor of Montana World War II hero Charlie Dowd—Montana’s last surviving Pearl Harbor survivor who passed in March 2023.

“Charlie Dowd’s extraordinary courage at Pearl Harbor and exemplary service during World War II should be a model to all Montanans and Americans,” said Tester. “Charlie was one of Montana’s very best, and naming the Butte VA Clinic in his honor ensures his legacy and that of the entire Greatest Generation is never forgotten by current and future generations.”

The Montana delegation sent a letter to Senate and House leadership in March 2024, urging support of their legislation to rename the Butte VA clinic in Dowd’s name.

A champion for improving Butte-area veterans’ access to quality care and services, Tester secured funds for the new state-of-the-art Butte VA CBOC that opened its doors in April 2022. He was the only member of the Montana delegation to vote for both of the federal spending bills that made this new clinic possible.

Tester also led the decades-long push alongside local community leaders and veterans to secure the funds necessary to get the Southwest Montana Veterans Home project off the ground and open.