BUTTE - Butte’s VA clinic is now officially named after Charlie “Devil Dog” Dowd - the Anaconda man’s heroics during Pearl Harbor and the South Pacific are the stuff of legend.
“He just was a 'Devil Dog' and he wanted action. He wanted to make the Japanese pay for their surprise attack on the American people,” said Charlie Dowd’s friend Tom Puccinelli.
Watch video of the ceremony at the Butte VA Clinic:
A ceremony was held Friday outside the clinic to honor the man who was the last known surviving veteran of the December 7, 1941, attack at Pearl Harbor.
Dowd died in 2023 at 99 years old.
U.S. Senator Steve Daines and U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke were there to pay tribute to the man who earned several Bronze Stars for his actions in the Navy during World War II.
His son Justin said he is proud of his father’s legacy: “Thinking back to what dad and the other World War II veterans did, back then at the time, it really can’t compare to anything I’ve experienced in life.”
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dowd grabbed a rifle and shot at Japanese torpedo planes for more than 75 minutes.
“The amazing sort of feats that he displayed, again at 17 at such a young age, that’s something that comes from the soul. You have to have that courage innate in you,” said VA Medical Center director Duane Gill.
Charlie Dowd was also a proud Montanan who enjoyed the outdoors.
“He was good, he was pro-military, pro U.S.A. and he realized what we have here in comparison to other countries, and he wanted to protect our way of life,” said Puccinelli.
From the VA website:
On the morning of December 7, Charlie ended his night shift with the Radio Direction Finder installation at 0700. He ate breakfast at the mess hall and was ready for bed at the barracks when the first bombs dropped.
A thunderous explosion jolted Dowd from his cot. He ran to the window to see a nearby hangar in flames.
Horrified, he quickly pulled on his dungarees and shoes and hurried outside. The announcement, “Pearl Harbor under attack. This is not a drill. Repeat: This is NOT a drill,” brought things into focus.
The Japanese surprised the U.S. Armed Forces and shocked the world when they decimated Ford Island, and the ships moored along its shores, entering the U.S. into World War II.
Command ordered everyone to take cover, so Dowd and others sheltered under tables in the mess until the call came to fight. Dowd and a bunkmate, fueled by anger and fear of dying inside the barracks, sprinted outside to take up arms.
Amid the chaos, they made their way to the nearby armory, grabbed a Springfield 30-06 rifle, bandoliers of ammunition and ran to the roof of the administration building across the street.
On the rooftop, Dowd and others with him fired some of the first shots of the U.S. involvement in World War II. The Japanese bomber pilots flew so low, Dowd could see their faces. Positioned against the parapet, he fired his rifle toward the planes, aiming to stop the pilot or the engine. He was confident they made contact from the roof on that fateful morning.
From his vantage point, he saw the carnage unfold. Stationed at the south end of Battleship Row, about 50 yards from the moored USS California in berth F3, he witnessed the USS Arizona explode, the USS Oklahoma sink and the USS California engulfed in flames.
The USS California was so close Dowd suffered flash burns on his face, arms and hands. He also saw the steel hull of the USS West Virginia crumple from the fire's heat and the USS Nevada run aground near the base hospital.
In horror, he watched as Pearl Harbor burned and his fellow Sailors jumped from ships into the burning, thick, black, oily water.
