History of VA and its administrations

Anna B. Raines was frustrated. As the lone psychiatric social worker between 1924 and 1944 at the Veterans Hospital in Tuskegee, Alabama, Raines operated without a proper office, resources, or staff while serving a population of some 600 patients. Raines was also responsible for Veterans in the 22 counties surrounding Tuskegee. Raines took her profession seriously and was often disheartened by what she perceived as administration’s indifference to her position. Raines’ personal papers convey a tale of struggle and document the numerous limits she faced as an early VA social worker. [1]   She nevertheless persevered and developed a prototype of a home-based foster care system for Veterans long before similar programs were implemented nationally.

In the post-Civil War era, ensuring that former members of our Nation’s military had the opportunity to vote was not always a straightforward task. During the Civil War, many states had loosened voting restrictions and allowed soldiers to vote while away fighting. Commanders allowed sufficient time during marches for their troops to cast a ballot, which many mailed home in cracker or cigar boxes.[1] Yet when the Civil War ended and Veterans began entering the newly established branches of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS), many found that their voting rights were called into question.

This cultural resource study is the result of a project by the National Cemetery Administration's History Program to assemble primary historic information about a thematic group of NCA properties: cemeteries and memorials that exclusively or partially contain Confederate burials. While Civil War-era national cemeteries were created to bury Union dead, the U.S. Government was also responsible for Confederate dead, most of whom were associated with prisoner-of-war camps. This publication examines nine all-Confederate cemeteries and nine national cemeteries containing the greatest number of Confederate graves.

This monograph, originally published as part of the National Cemetery Administration's World War II Commemorative Series, tells the story of how and why members of other nations' military forces came to be buried in our national cemeteries during World War II. It includes a discussion on the history of such allied and enemy burials dating back to the Civil War, the circumstances surrounding these burials, and the headstones and monuments that have been erected for the interred.

The Arlington Building, known today as the VA Central Office (VACO) Building, has been the central location for management of services to Veterans for over 100 years. While VA and its immediate predecessors have been the sole occupants of 810 Vermont Avenue since the building opened in the fall of 1918, the intended purpose of the completed building would change several times. The story of today’s VACO includes the origins of a new Nation and its capital, the demolition of a well-known landmark, bankruptcy, war, and a backstory of land ownership tied to one of the capital’s most prominent families.

Throughout the history of Veterans health care, sports have always served as a means of rehabilitation and healing. While many sports and recreational activities have been incorporated into the fabric of Veterans hospitals, one sport stands out for its popularity and impact on Veterans - baseball.