A ceremony was held Monday for the reopening of an indoor swimming pool on the Montrose Veterans Affair campus.

The pool was shut down for nearly 17 years because of safety concerns.

Officials say 25,000 veterans will now be able to swim year-round after millions of dollars in federal funding helped fill the pool back up.

“I need this pool, I need the exercise," says Vietnam veteran Neil Gross. "We were in the jungle and all kinds of horrible weather, and now I'm here today in a beautiful pool that was built for us."

Sen. John McCain's name was mentioned during the ceremony. He visited the campus almost 30 years ago. 

Some veterans say they can maybe unofficially call the pool “The Sen. McCain Pool” with it reopening just two days after his death.