The San Rafael Child Development Center was rededicated as the Browne Child Development Center in a ceremony, Jan. 29.

Brig. Gen. Edward D. Banta, Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations West, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, presided over the rededication of the San Rafael Child Development Center to be renamed the Browne Child Development Center.

The Browne Child Development Center is named for Capt. Edward R. Browne. Members of Capt. Browne’s close and extended family were present for the ceremony.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” said Betsy Browne, Capt. Browne’s daughter. “My mother passed away a year ago, but she knew this was coming and would have been honored to be here.”

Capt. Browne, from San Diego, was killed in action on July 27, 1967 while serving in the Vietnam War.

“He went out in the middle of the night to rescue his men and was mortally wounded,” said Jim Maher, Capt. Browne’s brother-in-law. “His father had died in World War II and he could have chosen not to go to combat, but he cared about his Marines and wanted to be there.”

On Sept. 12, 1985, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved the naming of five facilities on Camp Pendleton in honor of five Marines from California who were killed in action during the Vietnam War.

The Browne Child Development Center was one of these facilities and was first dedicated in 1987.

The original Browne Child Development Center was closed in 2013 when the San Rafael center opened nearby.

“This is an opportunity for us to honor the legacy and service of Capt. Edward Browne,” said Brig. Gen. Banta. “Capt. Browne made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and it’s a wonderful tribute to him and his family to preserve his memory in this renaming.”

The Browne Child Development Center, along with the other centers aboard Camp Pendleton, is a facility-based childcare service which supports the needs of children ages 6-weeks-old to 5-years-old. The centers offer both part day and hourly-based care.