Udall, Lamborn Pass Bill to Name New Colorado Springs VA Clinic
Lawmakers Led Bipartisan Effort to Name Clinic After Colorado Native, Medal of Honor Recipient Pfc. Floyd Lindstrom
U.S. Senator Mark Udall, who serves on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and Congressman Doug Lamborn heralded the U.S. Senate's passage of a bill to name the new Colorado Springs Veterans Affairs clinic after a Colorado Springs Medal of Honor recipient. Last year, a nine-member nominating committee recommended the new Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) be named after Floyd Kenneth Lindstrom. The bill, introduced by Udall and Lamborn, has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and now heads to the president to be signed into law.
Lindstrom, who spent his childhood at the Myron Stratton Home (then a home for indigent children) south of Colorado Springs and served in World War II, received the Medal of Honor for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in single-handedly defeating a German counterattack on November 11, 1943, on a hill near Mignano, Italy. His citation notes that then-private first class Lindstrom "demonstrated aggressive spirit and complete fearlessness in the face of almost certain death." Lindstrom declined a non-combat assignment after being recommended for the Medal of Honor and was killed in action on February 3, 1944.
"As a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, I'm proud to have stood with the Colorado Springs veterans community to honor World War II Medal of Honor recipient PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom," Udall said. "The new veterans clinic bearing his name will serve as a lasting tribute to a Colorado Springs hero who put his own safety on the line so that others might live."
"Ensuring that our veterans have access to convenient, comprehensive health care has always been a priority of mine," Lamborn said. "It was an honor to partner with so many Southern Colorado veterans to help bring a fantastic new Colorado Springs Community Based Outpatient Clinic for our veterans. Today, the facility is complete. The Senate, thanks to the efforts of my colleague Senator Udall, has passed my bill designating the new clinic as the "PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic. PFC Lindstrom was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during WWII and is one of the Fifth Congressional District's - and the nation's - greatest heroes. He is buried in Colorado Springs at the Evergreen Cemetery and I can think of no one more deserving of this honor. I want to thank the Colorado Springs CBOC Naming Committee and everyone else who worked so hard to make this happen."
Udall and Lamborn attended the new clinic's ribbon cutting in September. The clinic, located at the corner of Fillmore Street and Centennial Boulevard in Colorado Springs, offers southern Colorado veterans access to expanded services such as audiology, physical therapy, optometry and mental health.