IIB 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9124 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
DECEMBER 17 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
AN ACT 
To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community- 
based outpatient clinic in Auburn, California, as the 
‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Louis ‘‘Lou’’ Anthony Conter was born on 
September 13, 1921, in Ojibwa, Wisconsin. 
(2) Lt. Commander Lou Conter, the last re-
maining survivor of the attack on the USS Arizona 
at Pearl Harbor, was an American hero. 
(3) On that fearful day, Petty Officer Conter 
helped evacuate shipmates who were blinded, wound-
ed, or burned, even restraining some of his fellow 
shipmates from jumping overboard into the burning 
sea. 
(4) In the days after the attack, he helped with 
recovering bodies and putting out fires. Lou Conter’s 
heroic actions saved the lives of many of his ship-
mates on December 7, 1941. 
(5) Following Pearl Harbor, Conter continued 
serving during WWII in New Guinea and in Europe 
as an enlisted naval aviation pilot assigned to VP- 
11, a ‘‘Black Cat’’ Squadron. 
(6) Lou Conter would be awarded with the Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross for actively taking part in 
the rescue of 219 Australians trapped by Japanese 
troops in New Guinea. 
(7) Later, in the Korean War, he served on the 
USS Bon Homme Richard as both an intelligence 
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officer and a navy aviation pilot. Following his serv-
ice in the Korean War, he served as a military intel-
ligence advisor to three Presidents: Dwight D. Ei-
senhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. John-
son. 
(8) During the 1950s, Lou Conter played a 
prominent role in the establishment and development 
of the Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Es-
cape (SERE) training program. 
(9) In addition to the Distinguished Flying 
Cross, he was awarded the Navy Commendation 
Medal and became the first recipient of the USS Ar-
izona Medal of Freedom. 
(10) Louis Conter retired from the Navy in 
1967 after serving 28 years as a Lieutenant Com-
mander. 
(11) Following his retirement, he generously 
gave his time to share his personal experiences at 
veterans’ ceremonies and by giving lectures to stu-
dents. 
(12) Lieutenant Commander Conter’s lectures 
were popular with generations of local students who 
were equally fascinated and enthralled by his first- 
person accounts. 
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(13) He is eminently deserving of recognition 
for his decades of service to a grateful nation. 
(14) Lieutenant Commander Conter passed 
away in Grass Valley, California on April 1, 2024. 
SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINIC, AU-
BURN, CALIFORNIA. 
The Department of Veterans Affairs community- 
based outpatient clinic in Auburn, California, shall after 
the date of the enactment of this Act be known and des-
ignated as the ‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. Any reference 
to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, document, 
record, or other paper of the United States shall be consid-
ered to be a reference to the Louis A. Conter VA Clinic. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 16, 
2024. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
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