On July 21, 1930, President Herbert C. Hoover signed Executive Order 5398 establishing the Veterans’ Administration (VA), the forerunner of today’s Department of Veterans Affairs. Hoover’s order consolidated three separate government organizations serving Veterans: the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the Bureau of Pensions, and the Veterans’ Bureau. For the first time in the nation’s history, a single, independent federal agency became responsible for managing benefits and medical services for Veterans of all wars.
The merger came on the heels of a 1921 executive order that combined the programs for World War I Veterans into the Veterans’ Bureau. Two elements of the now defunct Veterans’ Bureau became integral parts of the new Veterans’ Administration: its director, Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines, and its seal.
Hines became head of the Veterans’ Bureau in 1923, replacing its scandal-plagued first director, Charles R. Forbes, who resigned under duress. He earned high marks for restoring the bureau’s reputation and overseeing the expansion of its network of Veterans’ hospitals. When the time came to appoint someone to run the newly established Veterans’ Administration, Hoover did not hesitate to select Hines. He was sworn in on July 23, 1930, as the agency’s first Administrator of Veterans Affairs. Hines remained in that position for the next fifteen years, a period of continuous service unmatched by any of his successors.
One of his earlier, if largely ceremonial, acts as Administrator was to approve a modified version of the Veterans’ Bureau seal for VA use. Designed by Chief Clerk William C. Black and drawn by Nancy P. Davis, the VA seal retained most of the elements of the bureau’s seal. The outer portion of the circular seal kept the word “VETERANS” and replaced “BUREAU” with “ADMINISTRATION” in a belt motif with the buckle at bottom containing the year of the VA’s creation, 1930. While the letters “U.S.” were removed from the bar atop the shield in the inner circular section, an eagle symbolizing American strength and freedom still stands with wings outstretched above the shield with thirteen vertical stripes, representing the first thirteen colonies. Draped on either side of the shield are the U.S. flag and the Union Jack. Crossed behind the shield are a rifle and anchor, signifying the military and naval services, with the bottom of the anchor slightly overlapping the bottom left of the shield.
This version of the VA seal is referenced in a letter dated July 26, 1935, from Administrator Hines to Henry S. Ashurst, Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary supporting the draft bill, “Official Seal for the United States Veterans’ Administration.” This law would entitle the seal to “judicial cognizance,” providing the statutory authority needed “in certifying and authorizing any records of the Administration for production in court or elsewhere, where certification or authentication of such records is deemed essential.” The bill passed on January 31, 1936.
In 1946, the year after Hines’ retirement, the design of the VA seal was modified to remove the flags. The belt motif was also removed and the anchor repositioned. This version continued to be used until the Veterans’ Administration was elevated to cabinet-level status in October 1988 and became the Department of Veterans Affairs, effective March 15, 1989. The department scrapped the old seal and adopted a new one based on the design submitted by David Gregory, an employee at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center.
By Barbara Matos
Executive Assistant, Office of Procurement Policy, Systems and Oversight
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History of VA in 100 Objects
In the 19th century, the federal government left the manufacture and distribution of prosthetic limbs for disabled Veterans to private enterprise. The experience of fighting two world wars in the first half of the 20th century led to a reversal in this policy.
In the interwar era, first the Veterans Bureau and then the Veterans Administration assumed responsibility for providing replacement limbs and medical care to Veterans.
In recent decades, another federal agency, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), has joined VA as a supporter of cutting-edge research into artificial limb technology. DARPA’s efforts were spurred by the spike in traumatic injuries resulting from the emergence of improvised explosive devices as the insurgent’s weapon of choice in Iraq in 2003-04.
Out of that effort came the LUKE/DEKA prosthetic limb, named after the main character from "Star Wars."
History of VA in 100 Objects
American prisoners of war from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam faced starvation, torture, forced labor, and other abuses at the hands of their captors. For those that returned home, their experiences in captivity often had long-lasting impacts on their physical and mental health. Over the decades, the U.S. government sought to address their specific needs through legislation conferring special benefits on former prisoners of war.
In 1978, five years after the United States withdrew the last of its combat troops from South Vietnam, Congress mandated VA carry out a thorough study of the disability and medical needs of former prisoners of war. In consultation with the Secretary of Defense, VA completed the study in 14 months and published its findings in early 1980. Like previous investigations in the 1950s, the study confirmed that former prisoners of war had higher rates of service-connected disabilities.
History of VA in 100 Objects
In the waning days of World War I, French sailors from three visiting allied warships marched through New York in a Liberty Loan Parade. The timing was unfortunate as the second wave of the influenza pandemic was spreading in the U.S. By January, 25 of French sailors died from the virus.
These men were later buried at the Cypress Hills National Cemetery and later a 12-foot granite cross monument, the French Cross, was dedicated in 1920 on Armistice Day. This event later influenced changes to burial laws that opened up availability of allied service members and U.S. citizens who served in foreign armies in the war against Germany and Austrian empires.
