THE VISION FOR THE NATIONAL VA HISTORY CENTER (short): In this video, get a firsthand look at the campus, future site of the museum, and learn how VA’s history connects to today. Hear from the whole VA History team as they discuss the story behind establishing VA’s first national museum. It is these men and women who have taken on the mission to craft the future site that will share VA’s story with the world.

THE VISION FOR THE NATIONAL VA HISTORY CENTER: Why a VA museum? This video explains it all.

The National VA History Center is the forthcoming museum and archival center for the historical collection and records pertaining to the Department of Veterans Affairs and its legacy agencies. It is located at the Dayton VA Medical Center campus, itself a designated National Historic Landmark.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 16: WIDOW’S PENSION: From the American Revolution through the Spanish-American War, over 100,000 women collected a widow’s pension from the federal government. The laws that regulated the granting of these pensions created bureaucratic hoops women had to jump through to claim one.

Go behind the scenes at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., to examine the pension application of Rebecca Cameron, one of the first women to receive a widow’s pension during the Civil War. Her husband, Col. James Cameron, died at the Battle of Bull Run in July 1861.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 53: FUNERAL CEREMONY FOR VIETNAM UNKNOWN: On May 11, 1972, Air Force 1st Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie was shot down over the jungles of An Loc, Vietnam. In 1984 his remains were interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The X-26 remains lay in the tomb for 14 years. This started a journey that would lead to his positive identification in 1998, and later reinternment at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

HOW A HOSPITAL BECAME A CIVIL RIGHTS BATTLEGROUND | IN THE MARGINS: A PBS-produced special on the establishment of Tuskegee Veterans Hospital. VA Historian Maureen Thompson provided historical insight into the effort to establish the first hospital to provide equitable healthcare to Black Veterans after World War I.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 26: ADMISSION OF FIRST FEMALE VETERAN TO NATIONAL HOME: While women have served in nearly all of America’s wars, it wasn’t until 1923 that they were allowed admission to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, VA’s predecessor. In this episode we’ll examine how they achieved this right 100 years ago and how care has evolved since.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 51: VA TELEHEALTH CART: In this episode we will explore the history of telehealth at VA. Long before high-speed internet networks made it fast and easy to communicate with others the world over, VA had experimented with ways to deliver health care at a distance. This episode will trace VA’s telehealth progression from its origins in the 1950s through the present.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 14, ADMIRAL CHESTER NIMITZ BURIAL PLOT: Nine individuals in U.S. history have obtained the five-star general officer rank, all but one directly on account of their World War II service. Only one of this select group, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, is interred in a VA national cemetery. While all Veterans in national cemeteries are buried with equality and their gravesites treated with reverence, Nimitz’s contributions to victory in WWII generated some unique privileges not otherwise granted.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 46, DRAFT GI BILL: In one of his famed fireside chats, President Franklin Roosevelt promised servicemembers “that the American people would not let them down when the war is won.” The American Legion helped him deliver on that promise, presenting Congress with a draft bill dubbed “the GI Bill of Rights.” The GI Bill proved to be one of the most transformative pieces of social legislation in U.S. history, enabling millions of returning Veterans to buy a home or advance their education. It also set a new standard for Veterans benefits that remains in place today.

THE HISTORY OF THE PERRY POINT PENINSULA – FROM EARLY SETTLERS TO VA HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS: What took place on the land along the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay known as Perry Point, prior to it becoming a sprawling campus where Veterans receive inpatient, outpatient and residential treatment and health care services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs? This video, produced for the opening of the Perry Point Veterans Museum at the Grist Mill in November 2017, highlights Perry Point’s rich history.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 5, CARDIAC PACEMAKER: In 1960, a VA research team led by surgeon William Chardack inserted what he described as a “battery-operated gadget about twice as big as a spool of Scotch tape and much the same shape” under the skin of a patient suffering from a complete heart block. The gadget was the first cardiac pacemaker.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 54, CIVIL WAR RECURITING BROADSIDE FOR “MEN OF COLOR”: In honor of Black History Month, the latest episode of VA History in Focus: 100 Objects pays tribute to the more than 200,000 African Americans who served in the Union military during the Civil War. Black soldiers and sailors saw action in 39 major engagements and earned 26 Medals of Honor. After the war, they often struggled to obtain benefits from the federal government for their service. Despite the obstacles they encountered, thousands of Black Veterans successfully pursued their claims and received compensation for their service-related wounds or medical conditions.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 7, PORTRAIT OF A REVOLUNTIONARY WAR VETERAN JOSEPH WINTER: On a snowy night Philadelphia in December 1829, artist John Neagle encountered a homeless, Revolutionary War Veteran named Joseph Winter. After hearing his story, Neagle decided to paint the ex-soldier’s portrait. Click the video below to learn more about the portrait and how it stirred the conscience of the nation. The picture of Joseph Winter is Object #7 in the History of VA in 100 Objects virtual exhibit. Visit the 100 Objects Gallery to catch up on all the previous entries in the exhibit.

VA HISTORY IN FOCUS – OBJECT 21, BONUS ARMY: Find out more about how the Bonus Army protests set lawmakers on a path to provide benefits to Veterans who had served their country. The History of VA in 100 Objects virtual exhibit explores the history of the nation’s efforts to honor and reward Veterans for their service by spotlighting objects that tell key parts of the VA story.

Billy Johnson’s family was notified that he was missing in action on December 21, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor two weeks prior. The Christmas card he sent earlier that month arrived the following day. Thanks to advancements in forensic DNA, Fireman First Class Billy Johnson became the 200th sailor positively identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency – thus getting his name back.

VBA Historian Dr. Jeffrey Seiken and VHA Historian Katie Delacenserie talk with the National World War II Museum on the transition Veterans made soon after returning home from the Second World War.

VHA Historian Katie Delacenserie discusses the Veteran Health Administrations legacy as part of the 75th Anniversary celebration.

On this episode, Shawn Spitler and VHA Historian Katie Delacenserie talk with the Acting Director of Communications for the Office of Research and Development, Mitch Mirkin. They explore a macro view of the role VA has played in current, past, and present medical innovations, as well as discuss Mitch’s role in the Office of Research and Development.

In this episode we hear from VHA historian Katie Rories and VA archivist Robyn Rogers about the evolution of Women’s History Month at the VA. For more information, please check out the following resources referenced in the episode! Visit the VA History Office or listen to stories from women Veterans in their podcast Reflections from the Front. Learn more about the important milestones and those responsible for them over the last 100 years of VA providing health care for women Veterans.