Sophie Becker, left, presents a portrait she painted of Abie Abraham to his widow Christine Abraham. The new VA Butler Healthcare facility in Center Township was dedicated Tuesday and is named in honor of Abie.

CENTER TWP — VA Butler Healthcare’s new outpatient clinic was officially dedicated to World War II veteran Sgt. Abie Abraham Tuesday morning, in an event that drew local, state and federal officials and focused on duty, sacrifice and honor.

Those, along with a tremendous level of devotion to his fellow veterans, are the characteristics that defined Abraham’s life, said speakers Rocky Bleier and Congressman Mike Kelly, R-3rd, who both used their time at the microphone to remember the former master sergeant, who died in 2012.

Bleier, who said he came to know Abraham, who survived the Bataan Death March in World War II and volunteered tens of thousands of hours of his time helping fellow veterans, during the veteran’s two decades of service at the VA.

“He was a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on. He was an important part of VA Butler Healthcare,” said Bleier, who during portions of his speech spoke directly to Abraham an reminisced about how quickly the years went by.

“The greatest gift of all — that’s what you gave us: your time,” Bleier said. “You will always be here, we love you, good friend. God bless you.”

Kelly, in his remarks, held both Abraham and the VA system up as examples of American exceptionalism and forces that could help unite a politically-divided nation, if people take the time to think about the concepts of duty and dedication. He thanked the assembled crowd of more than two hundred people for attending the ribbon-cutting event, and

“You’re here for the right reasons: you care,” Kelly said. “And this facility behind us is here for one reason and one reason only. Because we care about our veterans; we’re dedicated to our veterans. And we can never walk away from that commitment.”