History of VA in 100 Objects

Just after Christmas in 1864, African American soldiers recuperating at the United States Colored Troops (USCT) L ‘Overture General Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, submitted a petition for the right to burial alongside their White counterparts in the city’s Soldiers' Cemetery, one of the first national cemeteries established by the U.S. government during the Civil War.

Former VA nurse and Army National Guard Colonel (Ret.) Margarethe Cammermeyer believes that people should, “live their truth.” But her own efforts to abide by that credo led to her dismissal from the military in 1992 for disclosing her sexual orientation as a lesbian. Her legal battle for reinstatement inspired the 1995 television movie Serving in Silence, starring Glenn Close and produced by Barbra Streisand.

On March 4, 1865, as the Civil War entered its final weeks, President Abraham Lincoln second inaugural address was delivered from the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol. Four years earlier, he had stood in the same spot when he spoke to the crowd that had assembled for his swearing in as the sixteenth President of the United States.

This time, his speech focused on the task ahead for the country, a stirring call for healing and reconciliation. A significant section of his speech was a solemn promise to those who had fought to restore the Union: "...let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

More than 4.7 million Americans served in the U.S. armed forces in World War I and almost all became eligible after the war for burial in a national cemetery or to receive a government headstone in a private cemetery.

In early 2019, the VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Seattle, Washington, made a breakthrough - creating a 3D kidney tumor model to address a medical issue. A pending surgical procedure called for the removal of a tumor from a Veteran’s kidney, complicated by a unique congenital configuration of the veins and arteries.

In early 1880, a journalist visited the monumental National Cemetery Gateway Arch at Chattanooga National Cemetery in Tennessee as it was nearing completion. He came away impressed.

While women have served in nearly all of America’s wars, it wasn’t until after World War One that female Veterans achieved access to government health care.

From the aftermath of the Civil War to the onset of World War One, the Grand Army of the Republic reigned supreme as the largest Veterans' organization in the nation.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 transformed ordinary life for most Americans. Within VA, the National Cemetery Administration made the difficult decision to suspend funeral services to protect visitors and staff. Calverton National Cemetery in New York—an early pandemic epicenter—held a special service. On July 8, 2021, the cemetery presented a casket flag during a single solemn ceremony in which 849 Veterans belatedly received military honors.

After the United States entered World War I in 1917, the government hastily built new facilities both to train Army medical personnel and to provide care for soldiers wounded during the fighting or stricken with disease. Oteen Veterans' Hospital was one of these.

In the space of just a few years following World War I, the U.S. government created an expansive health system for ex-servicemembers under the direction of a new and independent federal agency, the Veterans’ Bureau. A medical bulletin was soon published monthly featuring articles from the healthcare staff.

After World War I, Americans discharged from military service faced a difficult homecoming. Many struggled to find work in the tight labor market created by a post-war recession. After a deferred payout, the Bonus Act, was passed, many Veterans marched on the capital to voice displeasure. The Bonus Army soon formed.