Radioman Charlie Dowd: Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal Veteran

Early Life

On December 23, 1923, in Rochester, New York, Charlie Dowd was born into a family committed to service.

His mother, Grace Josephine Hillen (1897-1961), was a nursing supervisor. His father, David Albert Dowd (1894-1941), was a Veteran of World War I (1914-1918) and General Pershing’s Mexican Expedition (1916-1917). He later worked as a United States Postal Service mail carrier.

Dowd grew up moving around neighborhoods in southwest Rochester. By 1930, his parents had divorced, and he and his older sister, Mary, were living with an aunt and uncle near their father.

Their mother had moved across town to work as a nurse for a private family. It is unclear how long this living arrangement lasted but, by 1940, Charlie and Mary were back with their mother in a neighborhood close to their father.

World War II

World War II (1939-1945) had already broken out when young Dowd was still in high school. An eager and determined student, he graduated early at 17 and, by January 1941, was enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

That May, he reported to Newport, Rhode Island, for training with the 9th Fleet Division 3rd Battalion. He shipped out to San Diego, California, for Naval Radioman School the following month. The four-month training taught sailors Morse Code, blinker-light communication, flag semaphore signaling, radio theory and other Naval communications procedures.

Classroom of students at the Radioman School at Naval Training Station San Diego, around 1941.
National Archives and Records Administration, 29011268

Dowd’s father passed away in September 1941, undoubtedly an emotional blow during an already stressful time. However, Dowd completed his training and shipped out in November to the Patrol Wing Two, Flag Unit, at Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor on Ford Island.

Day of infamy at Pearl Harbor

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.

Captured Japanese photograph of Pearl Harbor attack, December 7, 1941.
National Archives and Records Administration, 12008984

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.

Charlie Dowd and fellow Sailors on the Administration Building rooftop watch as the USS California burns.
National Archives and Records Administration, 306538

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.

Ships burn along Battleship Row at Ford Island, December 7, 1941. National Archives and Records Administration, 80-G-32588

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.

Solomon Islands

Dowd stayed at Pearl Harbor for several months after the attack but wanted to be closer to the fight. He volunteered himself and four others to transfer to the Solomon Islands where intense battles were raging.

That’s when he earned the nickname “Devil Dog Dowd” for always wanting the difficult assignments.

In October 1942, he shipped out to Advanced Naval Base Noumea (White Poppy), on the island of New Caledonia. New Caledonia, located in the South Pacific, was a key Allied base during World War II.

Ships in the harbor of Advanced Naval Base Noumea, New Caledonia, 1942.
National Archives and Records Administration, 8-G-K-948

A few months later, he transferred to Advanced Naval Base Ringbolt (Fold) at Tulagi, Solomon Islands. The area still reeled from the Guadalcanal campaign when Dowd arrived, and occasional bombardments continued. This is also where he contracted malaria, an illness he fought for the rest of his life.

After nearly a year, as things quieted down, Dowd again wanted to be closer to the front. He climbed a radio tower and signaled to a nearby ship, requesting to switch duty stations with another radioman. In September, he was assigned to the USS Farenholt.

The destroyer, USS Farenholt (DD-491), near Pearl Harbor in May 1943.
National Archives and Records Administration, 19-N-45993

The USS Farenholt saw intense action in the Pacific Theater, but it is unclear whether Dowd was aboard or stationed at an advanced naval base during those engagements. After the campaign ended in February 1944, the Farenholt returned to San Francisco, California, for repairs.

Marriage during wartime

While docked, Dowd sent a telegram to his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Trezise, to take a train from Rochester to San Francisco.

Charlie Dowd in uniform with Dorothy Trezise, 1944.
Courtesy of the Dowd Family

They married at Mission Delores on March 3, 1944, and Dorothy became pregnant soon after. With no money to send her home—and a new family to support—Dowd did not return to his ship. Instead, they went north to Bremerton, Washington, where he found work in logging. The job allowed him to save enough money to send Dorothy back to New York.

Dowd was absent without leave (AWOL) for 71 days. After Dorothy left, he turned himself in to Navy authorities. He faced a military trial, or court-martial, was sentenced to time in the brig (military jail) and was reduced in rank from radioman first class to apprentice seaman. He avoided harsher punishment thanks to an intervention by Admiral Arleigh Burke, who witnessed Devil Dog Dowd’s fighting spirit in the Solomon Islands, aboard the Farenholt.

By May 1945, Dowd was back on duty aboard the USS Kenneth Whiting.

Seaplane tender, USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14).
Naval History and Heritage Command, L45-155.01.03

Dowd was on board when suicide bombers attacked off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, on July 21, 1945. The ship's crew shot down the suicide bomber, but part of its engine hit the hull. The impact scattered aircraft debris across the ship’s deck and caused considerable damage below deck, injuring 5 men. One later died from his injuries.

Dowd separated from the U.S. Navy on November 6, 1945, as a radioman third class, earning two bronze stars for his service in the Pacific.

Building a life in Rochester

Dowd returned home to meet his newborn son and begin his post-war career. He learned the masonry trade, bought a duplex and settled into civilian life.

Dowd worked for several years in construction, a passion he carried throughout the decades. However, his marriage had a less solid foundation. In 1948, he and Dorothy divorced. For a time, Dowd lived with his mother and stepfather.

In 1951, he met and married Helen Hope Miles, with whom he later had four children. Over time, he transitioned from construction to sales. By the 1960s, he was a sales executive for New York Fire Protection Systems, and later, purchased the Kirby Vacuum Company in Florida. During this time, he discovered a love for hunting and fishing.

Building a program in Florida

After his mother passed in 1961, Dowd moved with Helen and their children to Dunnellon, Florida, in the mid-1960s. In 1970, he and Helen divorced. Later that year, he married Barbara Ellen Morris. They had two children together.

In south Florida, he continued working in construction and enrolled part-time at the University of Florida to further his career. Eventually, he earned his teaching accreditation and took his enthusiasm for building to public schools.

Dowd launched a “Building Trades” program at the local high school, teaching students to construct residential homes and commercial buildings. Proceeds from these projects financed new athletic facilities, school improvements, new lockers and other equipment, which saved taxpayer dollars.

Due to the program's success, Dowd was later named Region Director for Building Trades in the Florida Public School System. He served in that role until his retirement in 1984.

Retirement in the Big Sky State

A lover of fishing and bow-hunting, Dowd moved his family to Montana in 1984 to take advantage of the state’s legendary outdoors.

He quickly became active in his community. He served as secretary for the Anaconda Sportsman Club for eight years and wrote a weekly column, The Wild Side, for the Anaconda Leader newspaper.

In 1991, on the 50th anniversary of the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II, Dowd returned to Pearl Harbor. He was granted access to the same rooftop where he shot at Japanese planes. Looking up Battleship Row, the weight of the memory caught up with him. “I remember all those kids – we were all boys – all of them getting killed.”

Dowd never returned to Hawaii.

In 2014, he participated in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., along with 74 other Montana Veterans to see the memorials built in their honor.

He received recognition across Montana for his actions at Pearl Harbor, appearing in news stories and parades. In 2019, he was named Grand Marshall of Anaconda’s Fourth of July parade.

Charlie Dowd and his son, Justin, at the Spirit of Montana Award ceremony in 2021.
Photo: Office of Gov. Greg Gianforte

After divorcing Barbara in 1995, Dowd met Clara Pearson and spent the rest of their lives together. When Clara died in 2021, Dowd moved into the Montana Veterans Home in Butte. He died on March 17, 2023, at 99.

VA Clinic renamed

Dowd wasn't the first in his family to have a building named in their honor.

He shares a name with his grandfather (1855-1939) and an uncle, Charles A. Dowd Jr. (1887-1918), who was killed in action during World War I. In the mid-1930s, VFW Post 600 in Rochester was named in honor of Charles Jr. and another World War I hero, James Crouch.

In 2023, a bill to rename Butte VA Clinic after Charlie Dowd was drafted and presented to Congress. The following year, President Joseph Biden approved the renaming and in May 2025, the Charlie Dowd VA Clinic was officially rededicated.

The clinic, which opened in 2022, serves over 2,000 local Veterans and is part of Montana VA Health Care System, serving over 49,000 Veterans statewide.