[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3285 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.3285

                     One Hundred Eighteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
         the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four


                                 An Act


 
  To rename the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of 
 Veterans Affairs in Butte, Montana, as the ``Charlie Dowd VA Clinic''.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) Charles ``Charlie'' Arthur Dowd was born on December 23, 
    1923, in Rochester, New York.
        (2) In January 1941, during his senior year of high school, 
    Charlie enlisted for service at sea in the Navy, where he was 
    trained as a radioman and later stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
        (3) On December 7, 1941, just after completing a night shift, 
    Charlie and United States Naval forces positioned at Pearl Harbor 
    came under attack by more than 300 enemy aircraft belonging to the 
    Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.
        (4) During the attack on the heart of the United States Pacific 
    Fleet, which would severely damage 21 ships and claim the lives of 
    2,400 Americans, Charlie emerged in only his t-shirt and trousers 
    and sprinted from the barracks to the armory, where he climbed to 
    the roof with a .30-06 Springfield rifle to fire at the Japanese 
    pilots of low-flying torpedo bombers.
        (5) Following his bravery at Pearl Harbor, Charlie would go on 
    to continue serving the Navy in both the Solomon Islands and New 
    Guinea, where his fellow shipmates would give him the nickname of 
    ``Devil Dog Dowd'', for his unwavering willingness to volunteer for 
    the most dangerous mission assignments.
        (6) During the course of his service in the Navy, Charlie was 
    awarded seven Bronze Star Medals.
        (7) After Charlie received an honorable discharge from the 
    Navy, he returned to the United States, where he worked in masonry 
    and carpentry construction, before completing his degree at the 
    University of Florida. Upon graduation, he spent the next 18 years 
    passing on his knowledge of industrial arts and drafting to high 
    school students.
        (8) In 1984, as an avid sportsman with a passion for the 
    outdoors, Charlie later relocated to Anaconda, Montana.
        (9) Charlie was a vibrant and cherished member of the local 
    community in Anaconda, where he became the Secretary of the 
    Anaconda Sportsmen's Club and the Outdoor Writer for the Anaconda 
    Leader newspaper.
        (10) Charlie was forever an advocate for his fellow veterans 
    and dedicated to preserving the memory of the events of World War 
    II and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. 
    Until his dying days, Charlie was an active member of the Pearl 
    Harbor Survivors Association and loved speaking for civic groups 
    and museums across Montana.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF CHARLIE DOWD VA CLINIC.
    (a) Designation.--The community-based outpatient clinic of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs in Butte, Montana, shall after the date 
of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the ``Charlie 
Dowd Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic'' or the ``Charlie Dowd VA 
Clinic''.
    (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the community-
based outpatient clinic referred to in subsection (a) shall be 
considered to be a reference to the Charlie Dowd VA Clinic.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.