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Dr. Frank Toppo, whose last day at the Pahrump Veterans Community Based Outpatient Clinic was Thursday, was described as a veteran's doctor who will be hard to replace.

Toppo, a draftee into the Army for two years, and who served in Vietnam with the 3rd Battalion, 17th Air Cavalry, worked for the VA for 16 years. He will now devote his time to running Frank Toppo Medical Clinic behind Advanced Medical Center at 1501 E. Calvada Blvd.

His replacement at the VA is Dr. Efren Recto.

When U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., dedicated the new 4,760-square-foot VA clinic in Pahrump in 2003, he called Toppo "the best advocate for veterans in Nevada."

"What he's done to a lot of veterans is tremendous, looking out for our welfare, our health. He's going to be missed very much by the veterans. He's helped out so many veterans in giving them the support they needed for their claims," said Reggie Knight, a veteran's service officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

"I don't think we're going to get another doctor like him. He's the veteran's doctor. He'd put himself in the veteran's shoes and look out for him. He's been there and done it himself. That's why he's so conscientious of what he does, not only for the veterans but for their widows, their dependents," Knight said.

Bob Ahrendt, commander of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 15, said when he came to Pahrump, Toppo helped him file for a 100 percent disability instead of the 10 percent he was receiving. But while that move meant thousands of dollars per month difference and a claim for unemployment, he was more grateful for what Toppo did for Pahrump veterans as a whole.

"Being with the DAV, I cannot tell you how many people that this doctor has helped," Ahrendt said. "It's a tragic loss he's not with the VA program any more. There's well over 3,000 veterans in the Pahrump Valley alone and the VA clinic sees probably 2,000 per year out of the 3,000. Normal workload for a doctor is probably 12 patients per day. He's seeing over 20 people per day."

"He just went over and above what he had to do as a doctor," he said. "If you were a veteran and he didn't feel you were being treated properly he just made a phone call."

Back in 2002, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley gave Toppo a U.S. Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman's Badge during ceremonies at the VA in Las Vegas attended by numerous Pahrump veterans.

After a trip to President Obama's inauguration in January, Toppo indicated he may not be with the VA much longer. He said the VA clinic was already one doctor short.

While in Washington, Toppo said he was asked by Reid to make recommendations on how to improve the VA.

Besides Recto, the Pahrump VA clinic includes physician's assistant Bill Carle and nurse practitioner Elizabeth Sumner.